“The Bill of Rights was not ordained by Nature or God. It’s very human, very fragile.”
The Bill of Rights is just a bunch of words organized is a particular manner by some human beings at a particular time in history, so those words could be codified into law.
When organized into meaningful concepts words represent the thoughts and ideas coming from human beings.
The words in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of rights in particular were organized by human beings to represent the ideas of enlightened thinkers. It was thought by John Locke that human beings are sovereign entities who need to form governments to protect the rights of the people. Locke found confirmation in scripture and argued that we are born with certain natural rights such as the right to life, liberty, and property. When governments fail to protect these rights, tyranny results, and the people have the right to rebel. Locke based his position on what can be seen and understood as self-evident truth about the state of nature.
The Bill of Rights is a declaration of what is right. It needs no ordination but it does require human beings to stand for what is right while they bow to the truth of their condition.
It is only on paper, which can be torn; it is only law which can be legislated away, it is only an idea which can be ignored, but these rights are not fragile...these rights as described by Locke are firm, natural, and inalienable. |
