Bill Whittle: Rights v. Commodities

Bill Whittle is a very perceptive and intelligent man.  In the video that follows, he describes the difference between "rights" and "commodities," and the impact it will have on nation if we make owning certain "commodities" a right.

First, Bill describes a true right as something that does not have a cost associated with it.  In other words, it does not cost our government anything to grant us these rights.  Examples would be the right to free speech, bear arms, assemble, and worship freely.  These are currently encapsulated in our Constitution under the Bill of Rights.

Second, commodities are things that have a cost associated with it.  Examples of that can be found in Franklin Delano Roosevelt's (yes, the assault on our liberty has been going on for quite some time) proposed second Bill of Rights (based on what he called "economic truths"), where you have the right to:

• a job
• good pay (earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation)
• decent home (please define...?)
• adequate medical care
• monetary protection against old age
• monetary protection against sickness and accident
• monetary protection against unemployment
• a good education (from FDR's Annual Message to Congress, Jan 11, 1944)

If it is your right to own these commodities, then you are no longer responsible for providing them for yourself.  It is now the responsibility of the State to provide all these things.  And if they are your right, someone else will have to pay for them if you cannot, or will not.  Who would that be, pray tell?  That would be the American People (well, those who actually believe that honest labor is important in life).

So if the American People have to fit the bill for your health care, for instance, they will want to pay as little as possible for it.  They will use this to justify limiting your freedoms (such as drinking Big Gulps--thank you Mayor Bloomberg) to ensure that you don't voluntarily worsen your health and raise the cost of health care for the American taxpayer.  You must not be obese, not smoke, not ride a bike without a helmet, not eat meat, etc.  Where will it end?

If you have the right to a home, how big of a home?  Why not as big a home as Bill Gates, or the President himself?

Do you see where this is going?

You cannot make owning a commodity a right, for by accepting comforts provided by the State, you will ultimately lose your LIBERTY.

Bill Whittle: Why Don't You Mind My Own Business?

Link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S9dwP-fV3o&feature=player_embedded

Disclaimer: These opinions are solely my own, and do not reflect the opinions or official positions of any United States Government agency, organization or department.