It's my right. Three of the most-repeated words in this country, it seems to me. And yet these rightful people can be seriously wrong at times. In class, we discussed the sacred First Amendment - protector of free speech since 1776, right? Well, as noted on Thursday, it wasn't the all-powerful shield it's treated as today until a few decades ago. And there are still things you cannot say or believe. Think we'd be better off without government? That's anarchism - illegal in the US since the early 1900s.
In all honesty, there are rights people think they have that not only they don't, but they shouldn't. An often-heard cry is I have the right to my opinion. Consider this: your friend steps off a curb as a car is coming. Since he or she is sound of mind, they are obviously of the opinion that no cars are nearby. Do they have the right to keep that opinion? Or, since all rights imply that others have duties, is it your duty to let them keep that opinion? Heck no. In fact, I would call it your duty to take that opinion away from them ASAP. The counterexample most offer in this context is that they have a right to believe in things like God. Very well. You have the right to opinion - provided it can't be disproved. Qualifiers are important.
How about the right to health? Well, as mentioned above, all rights imply duties on the behalf of others. So if you have the right to health, but old age takes away your healthiness, whose duty is it to cure senescence? That's an impossible task. Clearly one of our suppositions must be false. You may have the right for your health to not be interfered with by other people (or yourself - see my comment on the AS main page), but just saying you have a right to health leaves out, again, qualifiers.
For more on rights, real, qualified, or imaginary, see Jamie White's Crimes Against Logic.
Thoughts? or if you think I'm just a ranting lunatic, comment.
Interesting post Derek. It got me thinking, yet I will have to respectfully disagree with you. Anyone has the right to the opinion, because its thought. The first amendment doesn't govern the thought process, it governs speech and rights there of. I was hoping you could clarify your example about your curb-stepping friend. The car coming has nothing to do with opinions or not, but just fact. The car is coming. I don't see how a person's incompetence to see whether a car is coming or not is considered an opinion.
ReplyDeleteThey are of the opinion that no car is coming. Maybe I just phrased that unclearly.
ReplyDeleteAdmittedly, it's an extreme example. But say we were to apply the principle to religious belief. In the Crucible, Proctor mentions that Parris preaches constantly of Hell and its torments. Do you have the right to an opinion if it causes you and other mental anguish?