A ‘right’ is something inherent to ourselves, not provided by any other individual or group of individuals. Rights are a part of natural law, or – if you believe in God – God given. We are born with our bodies – and therefore have a right to use our bodies as we see fit, as well as enjoy (or suffer through) the results of those actions — including any property (wages, products, etc) we receive from them. We have the right to develop our personality, to think whatever we want, to say whatever we think, to defend ourselves, to make our own way in the world.

A ‘product’ is something provided by ourselves to others – or by others to ourselves (or, in some cases, by ourselves to ourselves). Food is a product … clothing is a product … transportation is a product … shelter is a product … and health care is a product. Health care is the result of the productivity of another individual – and to try to claim it as a ‘right’ is to steal away the property (and therefore the rights) of another human being. When you produce something – it is your right to sell it or give it away as you see fit, and the right of others to buy it or not buy it (or take it or not take it if you’re giving it away) as they see fit. Any outside force that comes in and attempts to control how a product is distributed is practicing tyranny (infringing on the rights of individuals through force).

The video I posted, however, had less to do with health care and more to do with the fact that Senator Harkin believes that he and other members of Congress can CREATE rights. THAT is what is scary. Rights are not created or destroyed by men — it is a founding principle of our 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.” (It’s interesting to note that ‘pursuit of Happiness’ was originally ‘property’, but the delegation feared that stating ‘property’ would give slave states rights to keep slaves forever … so it was changed to ‘pursuit of Happiness’, which infers the freedom to create property/product and pursue ones own dreams … note also that it is ‘pursuit of’ … not ‘achievement of’ … happiness is not guaranteed – only the opportunity to pursue it).