George Carlin on rights vs privileges

George Carlin got it right -- and many years ago.  Seen on Bookworm Room:

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Celebrating Independence Day

 

Gary Bauer at PatriotPost has a message for all of us on this Fourth of July weekend:

Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays – celebrating patriotism, our history and the tremendous courage, faith and sacrifices of our Founding Fathers. As the 246th birthday of America approaches, by all means, enjoy the day! Celebrate America and our freedoms!

But please take a moment to remind your children and grandchildren about America’s exceptionalism and the significance of Independence Day.

Remind them about the sacrifices at Bunker Hill and Concord Bridge that were necessary to create this nation and secure our freedoms. Tell them about the courage of George Washington crossing the Delaware River on Christmas night.

Most importantly, tell them about America’s “mission statement.” It can be found in the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence:

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…

Yes, the right to life is a God-given human right. It is the first right without which all others are meaningless!

Those were radical ideas in 1776, and they are still radical concepts in many parts of the world today.

Of course, we have struggled at times to live up to that standard, but there is a reason millions of people from all over the world want to come to America – and it’s not because we are a “systemically racist nation.” We are not!

There is a reason that courageous Chinese dissidents wave the American flag, and not the Canadian flag or the Iranian flag or the Swedish flag.

Sadly, in 21st century America it seems we are struggling with the concept of “truth” and the notion that our rights come from God, not government. As Ronald Reagan famously warned, freedom is not guaranteed. Reagan said:

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.

That warning has never seemed more dire than today as radical Marxists are attacking our history and demanding a “fundamental transformation of America.” Into what exactly?

They are not seeking to create “a more perfect union.” They are seeking to divide us in order to impose their will on us. The future of our liberty depends on whether folks like you and me can muster the courage to overcome this radical impulse to rule or ruin.

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God bless you, my friends, and may God bless the United States of America!

Read the rest here. And Happy Independence Day.

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