The arguments for why we should or should not have “free” health care are being thrown back and forth in a rather cavalier way. I put “free” in quotes because nothing is ever free. There is always some economy involved in getting what you want, even if it’s not a cash economy. In the case of “free” health care, there just so happens to be a huge cash economy associated with it, but there are also the economies of time and quality. In other words you will have to sacrifice a lot of cash, time, and quality to get “free” health care. As a general rule, people will never understand that. These are the same type of people that get duped by the “free orange Macbook” offers that pop up all over the Internet.
This post is not about “free” health care though, at least not directly. I want to try to put into words what I understand about the Bill of Rights and how it applies to the issues we face today. A lot of people mistake the Bill of Rights for an enumeration of our rights as citizens of this country. These people are fools. I apologize if I just called you a fool, and maybe that’s a strong word, but this aspect of our Constitution has traditionally been taught completely inaccurately in public schools, leaving most people none the wiser. One of the cavalier arguments against “free” health care is that there is no right to health care in the Bill of Rights. Therefore, no one has that right, right? Wrong. This is a horribly inaccurate argument, and I facepalm whenever I hear people and pundits use this to defend their stance against health care reform of any kind.
The Bill of Rights is actually an enumeration of the limitations of government power over our unlimited natural rights. Without getting into too much historical detail, this was a bit of a sore spot between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists during the founding of our country. Alexander Hamilton argued against any Bill of Rights because the Constitution alone gave the people all rights under the sun, and he feared listing any specific rights could be misconstrued as a limitation on other rights. Worse yet, large government might use a Bill of Rights to find more exceptions to the Constitution with which they could restrict the rights of the people even further. (Does this sound familiar?) Meanwhile, Anti-Federalists such as Thomas Jefferson feared that listing no rights would be an open invitation for large government to quickly take away all rights and perhaps turn itself into a monarchy all over again. I’ll just point out that both of these factions feared large government rule. Our Bill of Rights as we know it today is essentially a compromise between the two groups trying to prevent just that. How? Take a look at the Ninth Amendment:
“The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”
Are you familiar with that Amendment? I know it’s not the First or Second, but seriously, there were only ten total in the Bill of Rights; you should know them all. The Ninth Amendment illustrates the founding fathers’ belief in personal rights before government and their anticipation that people would easily misconstrue the Bill of Rights as a limitation on personal rights (in the hopes that you would not do this.) This idea is further illustrated in the wording of other Amendments. The First Amendment says “Congress shall make no law…” The Fourth says, “the right of the people to be secure…shall not be violated.” The list goes on. These are strongly worded to restrict the power of government over the people. Ultimately, we ended up with a Bill of Rights, but it was the first Bill of Rights in history to be the exact opposite of what all prior bills of rights of various nations had been, which were essentially lists of rights handed down by the ruling class to its subjects.
What does this mean for us today? First of all, it means you now know the true meaning of the Bill of Rights and can use it correctly in your political arguments. (Please, spread the word. It’s so embarrassing that we the people don’t know the true origins of our country and the meanings of its founding documents.) More importantly, it means we have all of those rights you have ever said were not rights because they were not in the Bill of Rights. That being said, what we must not forget are the responsibilities that come with every right. You cannot have a right without a responsibility. Here, I propose my Bill of Rights And Responsibilities for modern reference. This is a living document that can be amended as new issues arise. It should be easy enough to do for those of us who understand what personal responsibility means.
- The Right to Own a Home: You cannot be denied the purchase of a home based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age or any other discriminatory measure that violates your civil rights. Additionally, your home cannot be seized at the whim of any person or governing body.
The Responsibility of Owning a Home: You have to pay for your home in order to own it. No other person, group, or government can be held responsible for the home you own. Educate yourself on what it means to have a home mortgage. If you are not fiscally ready to own a home, rent one instead.
The Consequences of Failing Your Responsibilities: You will lose your home. No one will save you. Buying another home later in life may be extremely difficult. Alternatively, the government may bail you out, and everyone will hate you.
- The Right to Health Care: You cannot be denied health care based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age or any other discriminatory measure that violates your civil rights. Additionally, you have the right to not have your health put in jeopardy against your will.
The Responsibility of Health Care: Take care of yourself. Health care begins with you. Do not run to the hospital every time you need a band-aid (or a drug fix.) Get off the couch. Eat healthy. Plan ahead. Put money aside for any chronic or unexpected conditions. Be smarter with your money. This is your health we are talking about. Why buy the 60-inch flat panel HDTV when you know you could be saving that money for a rainy day? Put your health first. You are the victim of the choices you make. People have been taking care of their families for centuries. Don’t feel entitled. Don’t be spoiled. Be an adult.
The Consequences of Failing Your Responsibilities: You overcrowd the system. You become a leech on society. The government declares a national crisis and makes you and everyone else a ward of the state. Your rights to health care are now dictated and restricted by the government. You have no options. Your right to health care as it should have been is now gone.
- The Right to Higher Education: You cannot be denied higher education based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age or any other discriminatory measure that violates your civil rights. Additionally, you cannot be forcibly removed from school without just cause.
The Responsibility of Higher Education: You have to study hard, work hard, and save a lot. If you can’t save more, study more. Scholarships come to those who earn them. Universities are competitive. If you cannot compete, you will not win.
The Consequences of Failing Your Responsibilities: You won’t get into college, or you will flunk out of college.
- The Right to Dance Naked to “Billie Jean” In Your Living Room: No one can stop you. You’re a dance machine.
The Responsibility of Dancing Naked to “Billie Jean” In Your Living Room: Close the blinds. Don’t let the music disturb the neighbors.
The Consequences of Failing Your Responsibilities: At best, your neighbors just label you a freak, never speak to you again, and post their video of you on YouTube. At worst, you get fined or locked up for any number of reasonably policed infractions.
You can see where I am going with this. My point is simple: every right has a responsibility, and failure to be responsible for your rights leads to consequence. There are no guarantees. There are no free rides. Granted, that last example was a little silly, but it just goes to show how silly it is to try to limit people’s natural rights. Some things are just nobody else’s business. We don’t need to outright ban those things.
Responsible people should be rewarded for their model behavior. Everyone has to live the life they have chosen for themselves. You will find people are much more willing to help you in your time of need if they are left to their own means of taking care of themselves than when you call upon the government to force them to take care of you. When you ask the government to solve your problems, you invite it to chip away at the unlimited natural rights you once had under the Constitution. My other point is that for those of you who claim to be “Constitutionalists” and continue to deny people rights because they are not in the Bill of Rights, it is time to wise up. We can solve the problems we face without government intervention, but we will never get there if we continue to argue inadequately. For those of you who outright reject the Constitution, well, I’m not sure what to say except that it is in fact our main governing document, and if you continue to pass legislation that contradicts it, we will have to hold you accountable for our nation’s spiraling demise.
