Life, Liberty and Property

On July 4, 1776, our forefathers signed one of the most important documents in our history as a nation. It is one of our founding documents—The Declaration of Independence. It was signed unanimously by all thirteen original States of America. The abuse of a King who believed that the colonies existed for none other than his benefit brought a long train of injustice. That abuse was finally answered in this wonderful document. The Declaration begins with these words:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, —

First and foremost, our forefathers acknowledged that we have a creator and that he created us all as equals. He endowed us with God-given rights. These rights come from God and cannot be taken away by the government, and when they are, as in our forefathers’ case, something has to be done. These rights were enumerated as Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, and were further enunciated in the Bill of Rights, with the Right to Worship and the Right to Bear Arms. The founding fathers believed in the right to own property, as William Blackstone declared: “So great moreover is the regard of the law for private property that it will not authorize the least violation of it – no, not even for the general good of the whole community”[i]

Never before in our history have we experienced an attack against these unalienable Rights like we are seeing at this time. The Right to Life has been assailed by this White House. The new health care mandate overrides religious conscience protection for medical workers in the areas of abortion and contraception. This order compels Christian health care workers to perform abortions against their convictions. H.H.S. healthcare mandates require religious companies, such as Hobby Lobby, to pay for the abortions and contraceptives of their workers, even if it violates the owners’ religious rights. David Green the CEO writes: “Our government threatens to fine a family for running its business according to its beliefs. It's not right.” No, it’s not right! This health care mandate is an attack on our rights of Life and Liberty.

The third area under attack is the Right to own property. Thomas Jefferson maintained that the purpose of government “is to declare and enforce only our natural [inalienable, God-given] rights and duties and to take none of them from us, including the right to own, use, and enjoy one’s own private property.”[ii] When the government seeks to take the property of one man solely for the purpose of redistributing the wealth, it is stealing. We have seen the Federal Government strengthened in its power to take our property. We have heard the president declare that he intends to see that everyone gets his fair share. Socialism the world over has failed to prove itself as a successful model of government, but none-the-less, we move closer to a socialistic state every day.

I urge you to vote on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, for your God-given Rights of Life, Liberty and Property.

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[i] William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (Philadelphia: Robert Bell, 1771), Vol. I, p. 139; see also The Founders’ Constitution, “Property: William Blackstone, Commentaries” (at http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch16s5.html).

[ii] Thomas Jefferson, Memoir, Correspondence, and Miscellanies, Thomas Jefferson Randolph, editor (Boston: Gray and Bowen, 1830), Vol. IV, p. 278, to Francis Gilmer, June 7, 1816.