Unalienable Rights

Ok, recently I had a friend turn to me and say that we should re-write the Consititution of the United States because it took away his rights. It did WHAT? So I delved a little deeper and it turned out he was talking about the Patriot Act, which is not even remotely part of the Constitution. His argument was that he couldn't imagine how we could have a Constitution that allowed for such an act to pass.

And the irony of his absolute belief in a system he feels he is entitled to, which our foreparents didn't even know was an option, is not lost on me. I asked him to actually read the constitution for himself. I explained, summarized each portion and pointed out that it is simply a document to set up a reliable government of checks and balances. And he was surprised. nothing he THOUGHT was there was actually there. And what it actually says does nothing to take away his rights in any way.

Now, I don't care if you disagree with me, but please do me a small favor, believe what you want, but do your own research. I have lived all over the world, studied our culture and others for my undergraduate degree and have discovered for myself that of all the choices available, being an American has won me over hands down of the things that are available today. We aren't perfect, but we are the best thing going, by far.

Today we celebrate an idea that people are endowed with certain unalienable rights...that the people who coined that phrase had to think about it, create that, and felt that it was not part of what was in their world at that time. And while his argument needed further research, my friend never questioned it, never gave it a moment's pause in declaring that he had rights...I think it would be nice if they knew how far their dreams had gotten.