Ruminations of an Old Goat

I'm going to get a bit political in this column, though all in the interests of giving you things to consider with your writing projects. Specifically, I'm going to be discussing an issue that's been in the news a fair bit lately -- personal rights.

All Americans reading this will be familiar with the rights recognized by the Constitution of the United States. I'm not going to list them all, but they include such rights as freedom of speech, freedom to congregate, freedom to petition the government, freedom of the press and the right to bear arms.

None of those rights are absolute. We all recognize that freedom of speech does not give one the right to slander another person. Nor does it give us to right to use free speech to defraud someone. Freedom of the press does not include freedom to libel another. The right to bear arms does not mean you can wander through your neighborhood firing off rounds whenever you feel like it. In other words, our rights also impose certain responsibilities upon us. What our rights do not do is impose anything on our fellow citizens.

I have the right to speak freely but you do not have to listen. I have the right to freedom of the press but you do not have to read anything I write nor does any publication have to print what I write. Put simply, responsible exercising of my rights does not put any kind of burden or obligation on you.

All of this seems pretty simple to understand, if you ask me. But one look at the news these days will show that simple isn't necessarily going to cut it any more. Specifically, there are those who claim that health care is a right. The same claim has been made concerning affordable housing. Admittedly, these rights aren't recognized by the Constitution but you will find them in the United Nations charter (along with the right to freedom of speech provided the speech does not contradict the aims of the United Nations). Many a science fiction novel has the United Nations ending up as the first world government, so using the U.N. charter isn't particularly far-fetched.

Consider the effect if health care and affordable housing achieve the status of personal rights. What effect would that have on society? Let's use health care as an example.

If I have a right to health care, then that implies that I may exercise that right at any time. As long as "health care" only means applying my own bandages and taking over-the-counter drugs, everything is fine. I can do those at any time, on my own time and in my own house. But that's not what is meant when someone says health care is a right. They mean that I have the right to have access to a doctor who will perform health care for me. In other words, they mean that I have the right to claim the time and labor of another person. If I have the right to health care, a doctor who refuses to see me for any reason -- such as having more patients than the doctor can see in a day or because the doctor needs sleep -- would be infringing on my right to health care. Further more, I could easily argue that a doctor who chooses to retire when no replacement doctor is available is denying me my right to health care. The same would apply to the doctor taking a vacation if it would affect my access to health care. After all, there isn't a right to take a vacation or to retire.

Once a government recognizes one right that imposes an obligation on another person, where do you stop? Sticking with health care, can you imagine a future where the right to health care has been established and then honed through law suits? Will there be a future where those with an aptitude for medicine -- perhaps determined through tests administered to children -- are required to study medicine and become doctors whether they want to or not?

Let's take it one step further. Can you imagine a future in which the most coveted jobs are menial ones because they are the only ones that allow you any kind of freedom to work? Can you imagine a world where people have the right to automotive care, computer service, home repairs and God only knows what else? Can you imagine a world in which the family mourns that their daughter must attend medical school yet rejoices that their son has landed a coveted job as a fry cook at Burger King?

Absurd? Certainly. But sometimes absurdity is required to establish that an idea is merely misguided. But even with that said, can you imagine a world in which one person's obligation to work for a society is considered more important than the society's obligation to allow the person to work for himself?

I can.