The Personal Website of Mark W. Dawson

The Rights That Structure Liberty and Freedom

One should distinguish between the terms "Freedom" and "Liberty." Speaking generally, Freedom usually means to be free from something, whereas Liberty usually means to be free to do something, although both refer to the quality or state of being free. Freedom generally means you are free from despotic oppression, whether it be by a government, an aristocracy, a theocracy, or an individual or group. Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, Petitioning Government, or to Bear Arms, etc., refers to the release from despotic restraints. Liberty, on the other hand, gives you the right to choose a course of action. How to spend your money, what job or occupation you wish to pursue, where you live, who you associate with, what education you undertake, who to marry, or any personal decisions you make is liberty. Freedom is not to be used in the sense of our being free to do anything we want. All laws can be viewed as a restriction on freedom and liberty, and such restrictions are proper in any well-regulated society. But they are only proper to prevent one person's freedom and liberty from infringing on another person's freedom or liberty. It is this balance between each person's Freedom and Liberty, and another's person's Freedom and Liberty that defines the state of a Free society. Therefore:

"Liberty is to choose the what and how in exercising your Natural Rights, while Freedom is the absence of repression before, during, or after exercising your Natural Rights."
 - Mark Dawson

Liberty requires that you have unalienable Natural Rights that cannot be infringed upon by any person, group, or government. Therefore, as the Declaration of Independence states:

“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.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

Essential Liberties

Our Constitution was formulated by the Founding Fathers, who understood these rights and attempted to structure these rights in a government that would preserve our Liberties and Freedoms. The question is, then, what are the Essential Liberties of a person that the government must protect? In the book, The Liberal Mind: The Psychological Causes of Political Madness by Lyle H. Rossiter, Jr. M.D., the author discusses the essential rights that every person must have to achieve Liberty:

“The rules most important to a society of ordered liberty are those that translate into what have been variously called natural rights, liberty rights, negative rights, or basic or background rights. Each right specifies a certain domain or sphere of liberty in which the right-holder, the ordinary citizen, is entitled to be free of interference from others including the state. (Epstein 1995, Barnett 1998). The first set of four basic rights has been called the libertarian quartet:

1. The right to self-ownership or autonomy
2. The right of first possession
3. The right to own and exchange or transfer property
4. The right of self-defense or protection against aggression
5. The right to just compensation for legitimate taking of property
6. The right to limited access to another’s property in emergency
7. The right to restitution for injury or use or illegitimate taking of property

A few obvious questions immediately come to mind: Why should these rights be regarded as basic to freedom and social order? Why should they be obligatory? Why should they be binding in conscience? Do these rules support and even inspire the common man to live competently? An appeal to common sense morality and a look at the practical consequences of each right are the first steps in answering these questions:

1. Given the immorality and negative social consequences of slavery, if human beings wish to pursue happiness and prosperity while living together in peace and freedom, then each human being must have a right to self-ownership.
2. Given the immorality and negative social consequences of depriving a human being of property acquired by first possession, if human beings wish to pursue happiness and prosperity while living together in peace and freedom, then each human being must have the right to first possession.
3. Given the immorality and negative social consequences of depriving a human being of property he has acquired by first possession, mutual consent, or gift, and given the additional immorality and negative social consequences of depriving him of the ability to sell, trade, or give such property away, if human beings wish to pursue happiness and prosperity while living together in peace and freedom, then each human being must have a right to ownership of property and the freedom to exchange it by mutual consent.
4. Given the immorality and negative social consequences of depriving a human being of the ability to defend himself and his property from aggression, if human beings wish to pursue happiness and prosperity while living together in peace and freedom, then each human being must have a right to self-defense.
5. Given the immorality and negative social consequences of depriving a human being of compensation for property taken from him by the state for public use, if human beings wish to pursue happiness and prosperity while living together in peace and freedom, then each human being must have a right to just compensation for takings.
6. Given the immorality and negative social consequences of depriving a human being of restitution for injury to himself or his property, if human beings wish to pursue happiness and prosperity while living together in peace and freedom, then each human being must have a right to seek restitution for such injury.
7. Given the immorality and negative social consequences of depriving a human being of limited access to another’s property in emergencies, if human beings wish to pursue happiness and prosperity while living together in peace and freedom, then each human being must have a right to limited access to another’s property in emergencies.
   
   The additional proviso for a government on which these rights depend can also be stated as a hypothetical imperative:
   
   
8. Given the fact that to be effective the first seven rights require the administrative, legislative, judicial and law-enforcement capabilities of governments, if human beings wish to pursue happiness and prosperity while living together in peace and freedom, then they must form a government with the authority, offices and power to protect those rights. A corollary proposition asserts that given the dangers of government power, any such government must have only limited control over limited common property.”

Essential Freedoms

The next question is, then, what are the Essential Freedoms that the government must protect? The answer to this question is encapsulated in the Constitution and its Amendments. These Freedoms are:

1. The Right to Representative Government
2. The Right to be Secure in their Persons and Property
3. The Right to Due Process of Law
4. The Right to Speak Freely
5. The Right to Publish One’s Thoughts
6. The Right to Peaceably Assemble
7. The Right to Petition the Government for A Redress of Grievances
8. The Right of the Free Exercise of Religion, and No Establishment of Religion
9. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms
10. The Right to Retain and Exercise Other Natural Rights

All governments must secure these rights for their residents to be considered a legitimate government. When a government fails to secure any of these rights, it is not a legitimate government, and it may be altered or abolished by the people to secure these rights.

These Rights are necessary as:

1. The Right to Representative Government assures that the government is responsive to the will of the people and that the government is of the people, by the people, and for the people. The will of the people does not imply that the majority can infringe upon any of the rights of a person, as all person’s rights must be respected by the government.
2. The Right to be Secure in their Persons and Property assures the Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness for all persons. This assures that a government and others cannot kill, maim, or injure another person, nor arbitrarily seize, confiscate, appropriate, transfer, or destroy the personal property of someone.
3. The Right to Due Process of Law preserves our rights against government encroachments, but this requires just laws and just processes to be enacted that recognize our Liberties and Freedoms. An unjust law or unjust process cannot be administered justly. It can only destroy or punish, and it destroys everyone it touches - its upholders as well as its defilers.
4. The Right to Speak Freely is the right to challenge the government and government actions, as well as challenge any other entities, organizations, or persons actions and speech, as well to voice your opinion on any subject. Free Speech of which there is no compromise, no excuses, and no exceptions to Free Speech, for to restrict Free Speech is to have no Free Speech (the exceptions are few, narrow, and far between that deal with the advocation of physical harm to persons or to the destruction of property).
5. The Right to Publish One’s Thoughts in today’s society means not only print publishing but also electronic publishing, there being no distinguishing between the publishing of your written words or your spoken audios or videos. This right gives a person the ability to distribute their freedom of speech to a wide audience and to garner support for their ideas, as well as the right to challenge the government and government actions as well as other persons, organizations, and other entities words and deeds. It also gives a person the right to comment on any subject of their choosing. This distribution is critical for the free flow of ideas, which has always contributed to the advancement of humankind.
6. The Right to Peaceably Assemble give a person the right to freely assemble with any person or persons to exchange ideas and share common interests, either in formal or informal gatherings, for their pursuit of happiness. It also gives the people the right to organize and to petition for any changes they wish to occur within society and government and to peaceably protest government actions. It does not, however, give them the right to engage in mob actions or mob violence as these are not peaceable actions.
7. The Right to Petition the Government for A Redress of Grievances is indispensable to assure government is responsive to the will of the people. The people not only have the Right to Representative Government but to present their ideas to the government for new actions or changes to the actions of government. These new or changed actions by the government do not imply that the government can infringe upon any of the rights of a person, as all person’s rights must be respected by the government.
8. The Right of the Free Exercise of Religion and the No Establishment of Religion allows for the freedom of conscience to believe in God and how to live your life according to the religious teachings of your belief in God if your religious beliefs do not encroach upon the Liberties and Freedoms of others. This entails that a government or any other entity cannot impose their religious beliefs or teachings upon anyone or establish a state-sanctioned religious belief on anyone.
9. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is the freedom to protect yourself, your family, and your society from violent acts that may be perpetrated against them. Whether these violent acts are from an individual, a group, or a government, you have the freedom to protect yourself against these violent acts. You also have the freedom to protect yourself from encroachments to your Liberties and Freedoms from individuals, groups, or government. And you have the right to arm yourself with sufficient quantity and quality weaponry to protect yourself, your family, and your society. And it is your right, and nobody’s else right, including a government, to determine what types and amounts of weaponry are necessary to protect your Liberties and Freedoms.
10. The Right to Retain and Exercise Other Natural Rights is necessary as Natural Rights cannot be fully defined. As such, they, therefore, should not be encroached upon due to this lack of definition. The question is, as always, what are these Natural Rights and how do we determine them, and if they are being violated by government, organizations, and persons? To this, there is no definitive answer, but they must be addressed on a case-by-case basis as these situations arise.

These rights are not only limitations upon government but upon any person, persons, organizations, or entities that would encroach upon them. In today's America, these encroachments to our Liberties and Freedoms are being done by the coercion and suppression of these Liberties and Freedoms by Progressives/Leftists, Mainstream Media, Mainstream Cultural Media, Modern Big Business, Modern Education, and Social Media, as well as the words and deeds of Political Correctness, Activists and Activism, Adjective Justice, Virtue Signaling, Cancel Culture, Wokeness, Identity Politics, Equity and Equality, the Greater Good versus the Common Good, "Social Engineering", and "Herd Mentality" as I have written in my Terminology" webpage.

Preservation of Our Liberties and Freedoms

Our Founding Fathers were aware of these Rights and formulated these rights into our Constitution to preserve and protect our Liberties and Freedoms. In this endeavor, they have been successful for over two centuries. However, our Liberties and Freedoms are not free. They must be cherished and maintained by the American people for them to persist, or has been said:

"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."
 - Thomas Jefferson

Our Liberties and Freedoms have been secured by the blood and toil of patriots since the time of the American Revolution, as well as the vigilance to the American people to preserve these Liberties and Freedoms. There have always been encroachments upon these Liberties and Freedoms by those that do not fully embrace them and those that wish to obtain power and control over the American people.

Today, these encroachments are more subtle and nefarious as they are being done under the guise of protecting America from both foreign and domestic enemies. The fear of COVID, Insurrectionists, and Domestic Terrorism is being stoked by ambitious politicians, of which most of them are Democrat Party Leaders, who wish to gain more power and control of Americans. The incessant charges of "Systemic Racism in America" and the propagation of "The Biggest Falsehoods in America" pits one group of Americans against another group and is the basis for these same ambitious politicians to gain more power and control of Americans. The attempts to federalize elections is an attempt to institute an oligarchy of Democrat Leaders, as an article by Rob Natelson, ‘Our Democracy’ = Their Oligarchy explains. Consequently, the words and deeds of these ambitious politicians are at the expense of our Liberties and Freedoms.

These encroachments are also becoming successful by the lack of public education is not teaching our youth about our "American Ideals and Ideas", and indeed teaching them almost exclusively about the problems that beset America in achieving our American Ideals and Ideas. As such, we have a generation or two of persons who do not understand the importance of our Liberties and Freedoms in maintaining our ideals and ideas.

Therefore, all Americans must be vigilant for these encroachments and resist them from being implemented in our society. We must turn out of office these ambitious politicians who would encroach upon our Liberties and Freedoms and replace them with politicians who wish to preserve our rights. To not do so is to allow for the destruction of America. We are at a turning point in American history based upon the decisions we will make, and our decisions will impact the future of America in that, as the 16th President of the United States has stated:

“We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth.”
 - Abraham Lincoln