Rights and Power

This is huge.

However it is complicated. Like multiple- step power dynamics in which the needs and dynamics are complex and competing, the idea of rights are protected by a web of power dynamics.

There are those who define rights as something given and protected by a government. We are somehow beholding to our governors as they have the ability to determmine what our rights will be from time to time. This is the underlying premise in the present versions of anti-terrorist legislation. This inherently means that a right is something given and therefore can, in particular circumstances, be taken away.

There are others who believe that a right is something one possesses from birth, by virtue of their birth, and flows from natural law or god's law. Like hair color, or height, like fingers and toes, it is an attribute of being human. From the moment of birth we have rights. More importantly, they believe that from the moment of birth their value as a human being is equal to any one else's. And that value and right are to be protected by all.

How can one claim to have a right if they are unwilling to protect the rights of others? How can something be a right if it is not a right to all? If it is not an entitlement of all, then it is simply a priviledge. And priviledges come and go. They are subject to the will of others.

Rights are rights and they have nothing to do with government.

Rights are therefore inalienable. You can never loose them. And certainly no other human being has the power to say whether or not you are entitled to your's. Simply they can not be taken away. Unless you let them. And the only reason you would let them is becusase you have a need they can help you with. That is power.

Oh, we have many reasons to think it is acceptable to take them away. Today we justify that infringement on the basis of protection.

That's what the king of England said when people wanted rights in the new world. "I need to tax you to take care of you. So you need to be subject to my will though I am across the ocean."

Paternalistic. Patronizing. And just plain false.

So a group of american settlers said - "No."

A war was fought. People died. Freedom won.

And those great humble souls wrote a document to ensure that this would never happen again.

Now the leaders of that nation are being paternalistic, patronizing and false.

Those rights are being taken away on the premise that somehow they were given.

The first real land of freedom and rights is the place where they are being taken away.

Enough people agree because they have been scared. Fear. The requirement of survival is a powerful need to tap into. It is very motivating. And those who can use it by having mechanisms to help or hinder it ( like armies, police, jails and courts) are able to exert a significant degree of control, influence and seduction.

They will point at people like me and say I am the reason we can't properly protect the people. I am trying to protect rights and remove power. But they want their power. They want to control you. There is a bigger picture here most people don't see. This is because they have successfully triggered the need and offered a mechanism.

They refuse to ask why we are being threatened. Until that question is asked and answered honestly, there will be the steady erosion of rights here in the land of the free.

To control the questions being asked is a significant mechanism. Information is the ultimate mechanism. For whatever we do, we do it for reasons. The ability to reason is based on information. False information will change what you do. It will change what you think you should do.

We are threatened because we have intruded into the rights of others in other lands. They do not want our culture any more than we want theirs.

But we want their markets because there is more money to be made. We want their resources because that is how we make money. Those with money want more money. It is another incredible mechanism of power. It can be used to control influence and seduce. People love power.

Money buys advertising. Advertising controls information. Information is what we use to cast a vote. Those who have the money can get those who want votes, to do anything. They need more money. They need foreign markets and resources to get it. They need votes and those with money can use that ability to influence to gain the votes.

Needs and abilities. This is the core of power. This is how power comes to life.

You have a right to truth. You have a right to be governed as little as posible. You have the right to act, think and speak as you see fit. And you have the right and responsibility to make sure everyone enjoys that right.

We have empowered government. They are entrusted to protect our rights. We gave them the authority. Authority is nothing but power by consent. We need to have people to protect our rights. We need people to make rules for our way of life so we might all get along in a safe predictable environment. We need this. So we give the ability to elected officials.

This is a mammoth duty. A duty that people should see as intimidating and onerous. One people should be afraid of.

However, they see it as an opportunity. They see it as something to pursue. Our culture, though founded in the protection of rights, has turned into nothing more than the pursuit of power. No longer is it the pursuit of happiness for all. In fact, we think we can take peoples' god given rights away to make sure some of us get to have our happiness in whatever way we want.

Rights are a good reason to create government. It is a good idea to make it their duty to protect them. We need that task cared for. Never did we intend for government - power by consent - to conceive that they had the ability to take rights away.

We are no longer the land of the free. But will we be the home of the brave? Will we stand up and say a right is a right. Hey you governors - you are just men who want to take those rights away. I don't care why you think you can take them away. I don't care that you can force this on me. There have been evil rulers before. There will be again. We must stand up to people like you. I have learned this lesson before - the hard way.

We are not another version of the Roman, Greek, or Chinese empires. We are the people who believe in rights as god given. We are the people you may call names and try to marginalize. We are the people you may harrass. But we are the people who won't go away. We didn't go away in 1776. We aren't going away today.

I am not liberal, conservative, communist or anarchist. I am a freedom-ist. I believe in the rights we have from birth. I believe power is the only true threat to freedom and our rights as humans.

We gave you the power to take care of our needs. If you are going to use those needs as a means to lie to us, manipulate us, control us, then you do not deserve the power we gave you.

Needs and abilities.

We still need them to take care of our rights. They still need us to cooperate and do as we are told.

Needs and abilties. We have power too.