Unalienable.
Late in June of 1776, a subject of the British crown wrote the following words as part of a draft of a document:
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...
Please do note that these unalienable rights which all men [all of mankind] are endowed with are not linked with citizenship of any particular nation, or any particular legal status with respect to their current country of residency. To put it simply, while Thomas Jefferson and the others recognized as the Founding Fathers of the United States had their shortcomings when it came to the universality of human rights, they would have found the idea that being an American citizen confers rights and the protection of law to be an abhorrent and alien idea.
Of course, the Declaration of Independence does not have the force of law, nor is it the framework of our laws. That would be the Constitution. The Bill of Rights, consisting of the first ten amendments to that document, are particularly worth examining, as they spell out particular rights and protections that are only hinted at in the broad-sweeping and lofty language of the preamble of the Declaration of Independence.
How many times does the Bill of Rights mention citizens?
Not once.
Not one time.
The Bill of Rights speaks of people, and of persons, and of owners of property, and of those accused of crimes, but it makes no distinction... it allows for no distinction... between natural-born citizen and naturalized immigrant, nor for someone here with the official recognition of the government and someone who slipped in without being noticed.
Leaving aside any discussion of what might be wrong with our immigration policy, "If you aren't here legally, you have no rights." is not a sentence that should be uttered by any who consider themselves proud and patriotic citizens of the United States of America. It is quite possibly the most un-American thing you could possibly utter.
Happy Independence Day.
This entry automatically cross-posted from http://alexandraerin.dreamwidth.org/274197.html. Comment hither or thither. Void where yon.
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...
Please do note that these unalienable rights which all men [all of mankind] are endowed with are not linked with citizenship of any particular nation, or any particular legal status with respect to their current country of residency. To put it simply, while Thomas Jefferson and the others recognized as the Founding Fathers of the United States had their shortcomings when it came to the universality of human rights, they would have found the idea that being an American citizen confers rights and the protection of law to be an abhorrent and alien idea.
Of course, the Declaration of Independence does not have the force of law, nor is it the framework of our laws. That would be the Constitution. The Bill of Rights, consisting of the first ten amendments to that document, are particularly worth examining, as they spell out particular rights and protections that are only hinted at in the broad-sweeping and lofty language of the preamble of the Declaration of Independence.
How many times does the Bill of Rights mention citizens?
Not once.
Not one time.
The Bill of Rights speaks of people, and of persons, and of owners of property, and of those accused of crimes, but it makes no distinction... it allows for no distinction... between natural-born citizen and naturalized immigrant, nor for someone here with the official recognition of the government and someone who slipped in without being noticed.
Leaving aside any discussion of what might be wrong with our immigration policy, "If you aren't here legally, you have no rights." is not a sentence that should be uttered by any who consider themselves proud and patriotic citizens of the United States of America. It is quite possibly the most un-American thing you could possibly utter.
Happy Independence Day.
This entry automatically cross-posted from http://alexandraerin.dreamwidth.org/274197.html. Comment hither or thither. Void where yon.