America, a nation founded on individualism, not collectivism

By Doug Hagin

There is no greater difference between the Left and Right than on the issue of human rights. The Left talks incessantly of human rights, equality, social justice, free elections, and so on. Wonderful stuff, really inspiring, until you look at what the Left REALLY means. In the mind of a Leftist, rights are collective, not individual. Take a peek at the "right" to health care, one of the pillars of Marxism, which, of course Leftism is a direct descendant of.

The Left will tell us that having access to health care is a right, as much as the right to speak, or worship, or assemble peacefully. But, in every nation where the ideal of universal health care is in practice, the "right" is managed, rationed, and ultimately controlled by the government. The "right" is often dependent on the patients age, or health condition, or the cost of treatment. What type of "right" is this? I have asked this question before, and ask it again. If the Left truly believes health care to be a right, and yet approve of that right being rationed, then what other rights would they allow the government to ration?

Would they allow the government to ration speech? Certainly many on the Left desire the return of the Fairness Doctrine, which would require radio stations to "balance" their political talk shows. This could, and certainly would be expanded to blogs, and all other forms of speech.

What type of right is that?

We know that the Left is no friend of the right to keep and bear arms. There is no real belief in that right among the Leftists is there? No there is not, unless you consider the government dictating when and where you may carry your gun. Not unless you are OK with the government dictating what type of gun you may own, whether or not you may keep it loaded, or must keep it locked away.

What type of right is that?

The Left does not seem to take freedom of religion as much of a right either. Again, unless you consider judges dictating that pretty much any public display of faith is forbidden.

Again, what type of right iks that?

In short, all of these rights are seen as "collective" by the Left. And as such these rights are to be controlled, rationed, restricted by the government to fit the common good. The idea of common good is straight from Marx. The individual is only valuable under Marxist doctrine if that individual is deemed beneficial to the collective. If not, then those rights the Left speaks of are taken away from the individual, for the common good of course.

Collectivist thinking celebrates "rights" like the right to have your income and wealth, and eventually you property redistributed to benefit the common good. They love the "right" to have your children educated as the government sees fit. Parental rights? The Left love those, as long as the parenting fits their model. In short, the Left loves "rights" that cede personal liberty to the State. The Bill of Rights? No, the Left much prefers the Bill of Needs, where of course they decide what you need.

The individual is a dangerous animal to the Collectivists. Individuals think, and seek things that the Collectivists loathe. The individual seeks less government, less regulation, greater liberties, and believe, as the Founders did, that rights are not collective, or dependent upon the common good. The individual sees our rights as natural rights, coming from either a Creator, or as simply the natural state of men. The individual sees our rights as unalienable, as untouchable by other men, or by government.

In 1789 Albert Gallatin wrote a letter to Alexander Hamilton which sums up how the Individualists see liberty.

The whole of that Bill [of Rights] is a declaration of the right of the people at large or considered as individuals...[I]t establishes some rights of the individual as unalienable and which consequently, no majority has a right to deprive them of.

There, in those few words, lies the definition of American liberty. Such words are distasteful to the Collectivist's mind, who see rights as conditional rather than unalienable. Conditional, as in, the government, not God, will give and take away your rights. Conditional, as in the government will be your master, your doctor, your teacher, your parents, your employer.............

© Doug Hagin