187 Basic Human Rights

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Mysticism creeps into politics from both sides: the religious conservatives have a list of tenets that God delivered & the collectivists, who are often atheists, have their own divine revelations, a belief that human beings and possibly animals are born with Rights, though it's not so clear where they came from? In a traditional liberal democracy, Rights come from The Law & are enforced by threat of violence, but the collectivists think that Rights are inherent at birth and people naturally obey them unless they are corrupted by outside forces such as Capitalism. Only in a wealthy society that protects its innocents can such naivete flourish.</p> <p>As usual, what's one person's “basic human right” is another person's convenience. I don't murder my neighbor, not because God told me not to or I was born a pacifist, but because we both made a deal not to harm one another, and we both benefit greatly from that deal. Don't be fooled though, there are those whose short term gain or selfishness would entice them to kill you if they thought the rewards outweighed the penalties. And even unthinkable violations of basic human rights, like rape & child molestation, are rampant in some cultures. Basic Human Rights are an imaginary construct arising from nowhere & supported by nothing, but I'm sure there are some folks in the Basic Human Rights camp that are rarin' to send in the troops because there's lots of crazy things happening around the world that irritate their mystical sensibilities. However, sending young Americans to die in far away lands for vague ideals is no longer fashionable.</p>