Where do our unalienable rights come from?

Question

scipro30... they weren't very tolerant of the British now were they?

Answer 1

The Creator, of course. At least I think that's what the Constitution says.

Jon, I take issue with you saying it matters not. The fact is, Islam does not accord inalienable rights to its followers. It matters a great deal.

Answer 2

The Founders used the term '...endowed by their Creator' etc. to describe the origin of personal freedom. Using this appeal to the Diety as an expression of art trumped any argument against the concept of unalienable rights. Even if the appeal is totally bogus it's one of those social assumptions that has, as they say, 'legs'! The problem here is that the 'Diety' is a cultural construct, a construct that may not be shared by other societies not founded on the greek concept of 'democracy' or the bed rock of 'Roman' law. The best answer to your question would be that 'our' rights come from the
questioning intellectuals of the 18th century who established the Enlightenment of that era with it's belief that science and reason trumped revealed truth and superstition. Where that leaves the 'Diety' is another question.

Answer 3

By the "absolute rights" of individuals is meant those which are so in their primary and strictest sense, such as would belong to their persons merely in a state of nature, and which every man is entitled to enjoy, whether out of society or in it. The rights of personal security, of personal liberty, and private property do not depend upon the Constitution for their existence. They existed before the Constitution was made, or the government was organized. These are what are termed the "absolute rights" of individuals, which belong to them independently of all government, and which all governments which derive their power from the consent of the governed were instituted to protect. People v. Berberrich (N. Y.) 20 Barb. 224, 229; McCartee v. Orphan Asylum Soc. (N. Y.) 9 Cow. 437, 511, 513, 18 Am. Dec. 516; People v. Toynbee (N. Y.) 2 Parker, Cr. R. 329, 369, 370 (quoting 1 Bl. Comm. 123).

Answer 4

According to the Declaration of Independence in the introduction & Preamble they come from Nature's God. If they were given by man they could just as easily be retracted by a stronger man or PC.

Answer 5

Our Creator.
Whether you believe in the Chrisitan, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, or any other god, matters not.

Our inalienable rights our supernatural.

What is given by man can be taken away by man. These rights were not given by man, but by God, and therefore are ours forever, unless we give them away.

Ruth: The point isn't about religion. The point is that these rights are given to us by a Supernatural Source. Personally, I believe the source is the God of the Bible. Since these rights are from a supernatural source, they cannot be taken away by man. If one were to believe that there were no Supernatural, there would be only one logical source for these rights: the government, essentially man.
It is the Declaration of Independence that describes Inalienable Rights and their source. The Constitution was written under the guidence of the Declaration of Independence, and the Inalienable Rights were assumed to be Supernatural.

Answer 6

Thomas Jefferson??

Answer 7

Mother Earth

Answer 8

our liberal forefathers who had brains enough to write a document to guide we the people,and enough guts to fight to be able to.
added. Unless you want to get into a debate about the creator. He is known by many names,by different cultures. Maybe that is the big picture,freedom to have our own creator and our own beliefs. They fought and planned for all,not just a select group

Answer 9

those who believe in higher power believe a creator gave them.
But in reality, they come from more civilized views and tolerance of fellow human beings.
Prior to civilization, humans only had those rights if they could keep someone else from taking them. It appears we are starting to see that form of thinking come around again.

Answer 10

Our Creator