Unalienable Rights of Humankind Essay

Unalienable Rights of Humankind Essay What are unalienable rights? How to define unalienable rights? Unalienable rights are those which God gave to man at the Creation, once and for all. By definition, since God granted such rights, governments could not take them away. In the United States of America, this fundamental truth is recognized and enshrined in our nations birth certificate, the Declaration of Independence: [All] men are created equal[and] are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Unalienable rights belong to each person by virtue of the fact that man is made in God’s image, and is therefore endowed with certain attributes, powers, freedoms, and legal protections as part of his essence. These rights are thus inseparable from each person individually and from the human race in general. They are a gift from the Creator and it is impossible for government to alter or nullify mankind’s divine inheritance. An exhaustive list of the unalienable rights possessed by man would probably fill several volumes. However, at a minimum they include the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In general, the courts have not decided which rights are unalienable and which are not. Legitimate Exceptions of unalienable rights Despite the sacred nature of unalienable rights, there are circumstances when certain unalienable rights (one or more of them) can be legitimately abridged or violated. Under the Constitution of the United States and American legal tradition, there are few situations when the unalienable rights of a person, or the nation at large, may be legitimately infringed or suspended: Due process Certain rights may be temporarily or permanently suspended through a court trial, or due process. If someone has committed a theft, for example, he may be found guilty by a jury of his peers, incarcerated, and thus lose a great deal of his personal freedom for a certain period of time. Injunctions A court may also issue an injunction to temporarily suspend a person’s right to conduct certain activities. However, an injunction seeks only to block activities which may be harmful to others, or which may be found illegal at a subsequent trial. Nature, scope and limits The concept of unalienable rights draws controversy over how they are identified and enforced. While unalienable rights should in theory be protected from the opinions of the majority, as a practical matter, if there is a consensus in society, legislation and litigation will result in the scope and limits of a right being set in a manner that does not reflect the opinions of a minority. Because consensus evolves over time, the latitude that people have to enjoy what they believe are unalienable rights can shift as well. There is a centuries-old debate, still unresolved question: are our rights ‘inalienable’ or ‘unalienable’? Lets define the differences between those two. Unalienable versus Inalienable rights English has changed since the founders of the United States used unalienable in the signed final draft of their 1776 Declaration of Independence (some earlier drafts and later copies have inalienable). It is stated that Unalienable: incapable of being alienated, that is, sold and transferred. (Blacks Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition, page 1523.) You can not surrender, sell or transfer unalienable rights, they are a gift from the creator to the individual and can not under any circumstances be surrendered or taken. All individuals have unalienable rights. It is stated that Inalienable rights are the rights which are not capable of being surrendered or transferred without the consent of the one possessing such rights. (Morrison v. State, Mo. App., 252 S.W.2d 97, 101.) You can surrender, sell or transfer inalienable rights if you consent either actually or constructively. Inalienable rights are not inherent in man and can be alienated by government. Persons have inalienable rights. Most state constitutions recognize only inalienable rights. However the other sources say that the words mean the same thing. Inalienable has gained a stronger foothold in modern times. Inalienable right is now the preferred form. Unalienable mainly appears in quotes of or references to the Declaration. Inalienable prevails everywhere else. Another similarities can be found while considering 2 following terms. Human rights versus Unalienable rights Human rights is often used interchangeably with the term unalienable rights. The difference between these two concepts, however, is that unalienable rights are those authored by God. They are thus both irrevocable and nearly unlimited in scope. Man’s role is simply to discover and protect them. The common idea stems from the belief that the rights are inherent in all mankind. People from across the spectrum of political thought can protect these rights whether they believe in God or moral philosophy. In the 20th century, secular concepts of human rights proliferated: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the American Convention on Human Rights; the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights; the European Convention of Human Rights, the Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols and many more. With so many documents and conventions called for governing unalienable rights we can definitely say that they are fundamental parts of humanity, the basis for moral interactions between people and are irrevocable. To sum up, the unalienable rights are given to live a life of purpose and meaning, and to pass on those purposes and those meanings to subsequent generations. Understanding your Unalienable Rights will give you a reason to live, a gratefulness to your Creator, and true self-esteem to pursuit the Happiness!