Dr. Martin Hash Podcast

What comes first: the Right to Life or Right to Liberty? The famous testimony “give me liberty or give me death” makes a stark choice. Constitutionally, liberty comes first, however, people argue this incessantly; in cases of safety, in the case of guns, and certainly in the case of abortion. What about the choice of life versus property or privacy? It seems that life comes before them. And how do other Rights fair in the hierarchy? Our Freedom of Association and Freedom of Travel are far down the totem pole. “Inclusiveness” isn't even a Right yet it takes precedence over who we can exclude from our presence, and ever-more-prevalent tolls and other fees are limiting travel. Social rights take precedence over religious rights; there's a baker in Oregon can assure you of that.

It's also tough to talk about Rights because everybody thinks whatever Right they are invoking takes precedence over all others. This becomes especially problematic when the “right” they are claiming isn't recognized in U.S. jurisprudence, nor specified in The Constitution; things like Natural Rights or Human rights. It's probably the fault of the American education system that people can't tell Rights from philosophy or personal value systems. These people insist that State Violence be utilized to force their interpretation of Rights on everyone. The only paramount Right seems to be that of procreation; no one can be forced to use contraceptives, no matter their proven incompetence of being parent.