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Words are powerful - Thoughts shape - Ideas have consequences

Jonathan Krive

Teen Activist & National Debate Team Star
Posted January 3, 2005

The Existence of Human Rights
Where do they come from?

The majority of modern political debates revolve around the assertion that society is denying a certain group of humans their due rights. Both the marriage and abortion debates exemplify this point. The gay rights movement contends that homosexuals are being denied their right to marriage; the pro-abortion lobbyists argue that legislation such as the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban violate a woman’s right to privacy. Yet, the premise of these debates, the existence of human rights, only exists as an assumption. Very few of these activists take time to establish the existence of human rights.

First, we must define a human rights. A human right is a basic right or freedom that all humans are equally entitled to because of its inherent nature. While another human may violate this right, no human can alienate the right from its possessor; fundamental rights are unalienable. Human rights are synonymous with unalienable rights.

In order to establish an accurate list of human rights, we must first identify their source. While many politicians and human rights advocates appeal to a written document codifying some list of human rights, this appeal is invalid: an unalienable right, by definition, cannot come from a human source.

The source of our “human rights” must, by definition, also be able to take them away. If the source of our rights is human, then that same human, or group of humans, can remove our rights. To identify the source of unalienable rights (rights that cannot be taken away), we must find a transcendent source, a source that is not human.

For example, an appeal to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights begs the question, “Who granted human rights before the United Nations existed?” We encounter the same problem if we appeal to the U.S Constitution. What was the source of our rights before the Constitution was written? Inherent in every appeal to a human source is the problem that humans have preexisted any document that has endowed human rights.

While many reference the Declaration of Independence as the source of our rights, they neglect to realize that the Declaration credits another source. “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.”

Man’s rights are unalienable because His Creator has endowed these rights. The contention that “human rights” are unalienable must be based solely on a Divine origin. Absolute rights such as the right to life, liberty, and property, must come from God.

Samuel Adams, one of the “Fathers of the Revolution” explained, “If men, through fear, fraud, or mistake, should in terms renounce or give up any natural right, the eternal law of reason and the grand end of society would absolutely vacate such renunciation. The right to freedom being the gift of God, it is not in the power of man to alienate this gift and voluntarily become a slave.”

Any source other than God results in rights that are purely pragmatic, subjective, and non-absolute. Entities like the Supreme Court have a fickle mind. Today they find a right for same-sex couples to get married according to the “right of privacy”; tomorrow they find a right to take drugs because of the “right to privacy.” Yet, with one declaration, the Supreme Court could revoke both of those “rights.” None of the rights that are granted in the Constitution are unalienable either. While the Second Amendment guarantees that the government will not infringe on the citizen’s right to bear arms, the government has passed numerous laws banning certain types of guns. If the government grants a right, apparently it can be taken away.

According to this logic, anyone can create rights. I might contend that every person has a right to a computer, because in our age of modern technology, computers are necessary. Yet, if I can create the right to a computer, then the list of possible “rights” is endless. This arbitrary notion of rights completely devalues the concept. Whoever creates the right can also remove the right.

On the other hand, no human power can remove unalienable rights, because it was not a human power that granted those rights. That’s what the Declaration meant when it stated, “...endowed by their Creator…” These rights are unalienable because they are from man’s creator, not man himself.

If God is the only source of our unalienable rights, then it is God who must define what our rights are. We can look to two areas for a general codification. The first, which is obvious, is God’s written word, the Bible. For example, the Ten Commandments allude to a right to life when they say, “Thou shalt not kill;” and a right to property when they say, “Thou shalt not steal.” Also, we can look to God’s creation and the laws of nature. Nature was Thomas Jefferson’s evidence for unalienable rights when he drafted the Declaration of Independence.

Ultimately, we must realize that the only unalienable rights that exist are those that God has endowed to mankind. All other rights are pragmatic at best, and most likely non-existent.

© Jonathan Krive 2004

Jonathan Krive is an 18 year old Certified Legal Assistant, national debate team star, and accomplished pianist. Having met the legal requirements for high school graduation at age 15, Jonathan is a graduate of the Oak Brook College of Law Paralegal School.
He has actively promoted conservative ideals in both academic and political forums, receiving among many awards, the Citizen Activist Award from Eagle Forum, presented by Phyllis Schlafly in 2003. He chaired a local political action committee to fight an Indian casino in his county; the Conservative Caucus for Junior States of America; and acted as deputy campaign manager for a Republican Primary State Assembly race. He has spoken at numerous events including California Pro-Life Council's "31st Anniversary of Roe v. Wade" Rally in Sacramento, and the third annual California Eagle Forum Educational Conference. He took first place in the National Right to Life Oratory Contest held in 2004. Jonathan also worked for the 2004 Alan Keyes for Senate Campaign in Illinois, coordinating logistics for Ambassador Keyes' speaking events, and as his personal Assistant during the downstate tour of the campaign. Contact: jdrive@comcast.net