John Locke explained that all humans have the right to three things in the state of nature. Those things being Life, Liberty, and Property. He used these ideas to figure out the purpose of government. That purpose being that by letting the state of nature run its course, those who were smarter or stronger then others would abuse their rights by trying to rule over those that were weaker. Thus taking the rights away from the weaker and leaving them to fend for themselves and try to protect their rights. Therefore the purpose of government was to protect the rights of the weaker and more feeble minded people. In order for this to work out people had to consent to being governed and agree to what Locke referred to as a "social contract." This contract gave government the right to suppress a few terms of everyone's unalienable rights in order to keep them safe. It gave government the right to take rights away from those abusing the rights of others. So basically the people gave a little in order to get something in return, which in this case was security. If the governed do not give consent for the government to do so, then government cannot exist because they themselves would be abusing other peoples rights by taking them away from others that are abusing them as well.
When the Declaration of Independence was created those concepts were taken and used to help create the document. Within the document it was stated that...
"We hold these truths to be self evident, that all Men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator with a 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 a new Government..."
I interpret these to mean the following...
1. All men are created equal -
This means that no one is born to dominate over another. All human beings are created the same and therefore born with and deserve the same rights or treatment from others.
2. People have rights that are unalienable -
This means that these rights that everyone is born with can never be taken away. That no matter what happens throughout a persons life these rights will always be carried with them and cannot be denied due to any social, racial, or class, associated reasoning.
3. These rights being Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness -
This means that first off everyone has the right to live. No one can go around killing people and taking this right from others. Having the right to Liberty means that people are free to make their own choices and decisions without having to do what others tell them to. The right to the Pursuit of Happiness means that people can do what ever it is that makes them happy and are free to seek after these things.
4. Government is created to secure these rights -
This meant that government is put in place so that people will feel safe and as though their rights are being protected. This also meaning that is it the governments duty to get rid of those who are abusing these rights and taking them from others.
5. The people have the right to alter or abolish their government if it becomes destructive of the purpose in which it was created-
This means that if at any time the governed feel their rights are being abused by the government or their rights are no longer being protected. That they have the right to get rid of the problem. Whether it be by abolishing the government completely and creating a new one, or by simply fixing a few problems.
I, princess believes that it is very important to protect everyone's rights. I also believe that the rights in which John Locke described as being unalienable are very accurate. I did however begin to think about his idea of life being something everyone felt the need to protect. I began to wonder about those who choose to commit suicide. What makes people turn against what is considered to be a basic human instinct? I also thought about abortion. At what point are these rights given? Do unborn children already have these rights? What do you my subjects think?
~Princess
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