Reflections on Independence Day

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

On this anniversary of the day Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, we would do well to reflect on these words.

The right to life is paramount, because without it, one can not exercise any other right. Yet in the United States (and most other "progressive" nations) we have a two-tier system of legal "rights:"

• the strong and vocal, who have not only the fundamental rights recognized by the Founding Fathers, but who have also collected spurious "rights" such as the right to have pizza delivered regardless of the risks to the life of the person hired to deliver the pizza
  
• the silent and disenfranchised, whose only "right" is to be disposed of at the behest of the strong and vocal

So today, those who benefit from the two-tiered system celebrate their rights -- including the "right" to abort their unborn children, their "right" to deny medical care to the severely disabled, and their "right" to have their ailing relatives put to death.

These rights are a legal fiction, fabricated for the benefit of the strong and vocal. It is my prayer that one day all people, regardless of age, handicap, or illness, will be protected from the "rights" of those who hold power over them.

Until that day, there will always be a degree of hipocracy in celebrating Independence Day. Until no one can be deprived of life without due process, we celebrate "freedom for me, but not for thee."

To quote Alan Keyes:

If the Declaration of Independence states our creed, there can be no right to abortion, since it means denying the most fundamental right of all, to human offspring in the womb. But if human beings can decide who is human and who is not, the doctrine of God-given rights is utterly corrupted. Abortion is the unjust taking of a human life and a breach of the fundamental principles of our public moral creed.