"Our Unalienable Rights Under the Siege”
Report of the Religious Affairs Committee – Executive Committee Meeting, NAACP Lakeland Branch, May 12, 2022
When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence in 1776, he drew from the English Enlightenment philosophers, John Locke and David Hume. They believed in a philosophy that human beings were created with by nature as created by God (Genesis 1-2). God made them that way, regardless what the religions of the time and prejudices had to say.
These were radical ideas in the time when all the countries in Europe and most of the world, were ruled divine-right kings and queens with no legislative representation by the people.
Jefferson, Washington, Madison, and other southern founders owned slaves and wrote that eventually the institution would cease, because it was in God’s nature that even slaves were meant to be free.
They were troubled by their hypocrisy ignoring the tenants of Hume and Locke. Yet, their genius laid the groundwork for the Constitution which allowed for amendments that with changing circumstances warranted the inventible march towards greater freedoms of a wider and more diverse representation of the American people.
When the founders realized that the Constitution had left out safeguards for the protection of citizens’ basic freedoms, the first 10 amendments, the “Bill of Rights” were the first to be added to this sacred document.
Enslaved Americans were never mentioned in the document, nor were there any freedoms guaranteed to them. It would take a great Civil War waged over 80 years later that would give the enslaved the opportunity for their long march towards freedom.
So let’s refresh our memories as to what the second paragraph of the Declaration says:
“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.”
When the second paragraph of the Declaration is broken down and understood in modern English, here are some reflections of what it means to current Americans.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident,”
Jefferson draws his poetic phrases of “Natural Law” from Locke and Hume. God created humanity by God’s nature. No further words are necessary, not from any religion controlled by a ruler or church defining what people must believe. No one could pontificate who was human or not human, saved or unsaved, right or wrong.
Most of the Founders were Deists, God believers. God built the clock, swung the pendulum, then walked away to “let nature takes its course.” They feared that state sponsored religion in Europe would infect the new republic with authoritarianism. For centuries religion in the old countries was corrupt, abusing, and counter to core of the Christian faith. Therefore, they didn’t want any particular religion interfering in the freedom of faiths people chose in America – thus the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights.
“they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Our creation by God is a given. “Unalienable” means that these rights can’t be taken from us because they have been given to us by God.
“That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
These rights are secured with the consent of the governed, that is with the exercise of a democracy in which all persons have access to that power.
“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.”
That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends of “unalienable rights” and how these rights are implemented in a democratic government, the people have the right to change or abolish that corrupt government. The people have the right to re-institute a new government restoring the exercise of their unalienable rights.
In other words, Governor DeSantis and his lap-dog legislature has forced upon Florida citizens a series of laws that break that bond and threaten our unalienable rights, while eroding our democracy. It is also occurring in other conservatively dominated states, passing similar laws.
We have a right to abolish DeSantis’ form of government with the only tools we have, the courts and the ballot. Only then can we “institute a new government, laying the foundation on such “self-evident” principles and re-establish our unalienable rights. The people have the right to push the default button, to recover a form of government based on their unalienable rights.
Why the Right-Wing is Winning the Culture Wards and the Erosion of Democracy
The United States Supreme Court is stacked with five conservative justices. How did this happen? The conservative agenda will dominate the legal landscape for decades to come. This issue is much more dire than most American can imagine.
The imminent overturning of Roe v Wade was a process long in coming. It has been a marathon race lasting for over 50 years, with many runners, claiming victory for their cause, who are now poised to cross the finish line. And they have had a lot of help along the way.
There are two titanic movements that have come together to overthrow Roe v Wade after it was ruled in 1973.
The Federalist Society
Conservative lawyers and judges founded the Federalist Society shortly after the Roe Supreme Court ruling. They believed that the US justice system was dominated by too many liberals. They recruited, groomed, and trained young law students, lawyers and judges. They lobbied the White House to appoint and for the Congress to confirm them to federal benches.
Conservative presidents and majority conservative sessions of the Congress filled the benches with conservative judges. Donald Trump holds the record of appointing and the Congress confirming more conservative judges in the past four years, including replacing 3 justices to the Supreme Court.
Presently, five of the sitting Justices, Alito, Thomas, Roberts, Kavanaugh, Gorsuch, and Barrett, are members of the Federalist Society. Which means that we will have to live with ultra-conservative rulings that will often contradict the will of the people. For example, polls over the years indicate that 53-56% Americans approve of some form of abortion and the right of the woman to choose.
In addition, the Federalist Society promotes the “originalist” interpretation of Constitution. It means that rulings must follow the “original” interpretation of what the founders intended when they ratified the document in 1788.
If the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution nor the Bill of Rights make no mention of slavery, then if we were to apply the originalist interpretation does that mean that slavery could return and that women would lose their write to vote? Would the number of electors be reduced to land owning, white males? What about the post Civil War amendments that gave former slaves their freedom, humanity, citizenship and right to vote?
Religion is weaponized by politics – The powerful few decrease the democracy of the many
The other titanic movement happened when religion was weaponized by right-wing politics. Conservative Christians wanting to gain power with politics mustered the “silent majority” of conservative Christians. Traditionally this demographic avoided politics, living with the “bubble” of their churches.
The Reverend Jerry Falwell, saw the opportunity after Roe to focus on the “right to life” sentiment of most conservative Christians.
Falwell and other conservative religious leaders used Roe as a rallying cry in order to gather votes for conservative politicians.
Roe has become the catalyst, not the issue for conservatives to win primaries, and government office in order to promote their anti-democratic power, as Roe and other culture issues are attracting voters to the polls.
The tragedy is that when religion and politics mix, the unalienable rights of the people are eroded, when the people vote for politicians who pass laws that go counter to their unalienable rights.
