Opinion: People's rights are not negotiable

Politicians speak most passionately about things they understand the least, like guns. This is especially dangerous when they talk about what they believe your rights are.

President Biden has recently shown he doesn’t understand rights-- he confuses them with privileges and he’s plotting to violate our rights because he doesn’t like them.

This is criminal behavior from him and should be treated as such.

Recent events caused emotions to run high, which leads to foolish threats from authoritarian politicians. It doesn’t change what our rights are, nor does it excuse the threat to violate them.

The rights of good people can’t depend on what bad people do. Especially when our rights are all that stand between us and letting the bad people do anything to anyone at any time without opposition. Such as happens in schools, hospitals, or any place where your right to defend yourself (and others) with effective tools is routinely violated.

You’ve now seen the bumper sticker come to life: When seconds count, the police are only minutes away. Or an hour or more. Assuming they are inclined to help.

Some politically minded people like to claim there are no such things as rights; it is only about power and who has the power to do what to whom. If that’s true, then no one has any reason to complain about anything anyone with power does. Putin had the power to invade Ukraine, the Ukrainian people had no right to not be displaced or killed, so all is fine.

The same could be said about every other dictator who caused holocausts. If rights aren’t a real thing, people should just shut up and take it, whatever “it” happens to be.

I don’t believe this is reality. Society can only exist if we each respect the rights of those around us and stand up against -- with effective tools of defense -- those who refuse to do so, whether it is the grimy mugger from the alley or the mentally compromised occupant of the Oval Office.

Rights are non-negotiable and must be defended, regardless of the opinions of those with power. When those with power try to make it so you are unable to effectively resist them, then it is doubly important you do so before it is too late. Do you want to sentence your grandchildren to a life of slavery, or is liberty worth the risk? I know where I stand.

Farwell’s Kent McManigal champions liberty. Contact him at: 

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