David Burnell: Natural Rights the Foundation of Liberty

Natural rights, the foundation of liberty.

Today I'd like to talk about a concept

that sits quietly beneath the surface of American liberty

yet forms the very foundation of it.

That concept is natural rights.

Natural rights are the freedoms that belong

to every human being simply because they exist.

They are not granted by governments,

kings or institutions.

They are considered inalienable,

meaning they cannot be taken away or transferred.

These rights exist before laws are written,

before constitutions are drafted,

and before nations are formed.

The idea gained powerful expression

in the 17th century through the work

of philosophers like John Locke.

Locke argued that human beings possess certain rights

by nature, rights such as life, liberty,

property, and the freedom of conscience.

In his view, governments are not the source of these rights.

Governments exist for one purpose to protect them.

This idea became deeply influential

among the thinkers who would later shape the United States.

When the American colonies sought independence from England,

leaders such as Thomas Jefferson

drew directly from this philosophy.

The result was the declaration of independence,

a document that boldly stated that all men are created equal

and endowed by their creator with certain

unalienable rights.

Those words were not written lightly.

They reflected centuries of philosophical debate

and a profound belief that freedom does not originate

from rulers or political systems.

Instead, freedom originates with the individual.

Over time, these ideas were further embedded

in the American system through the Constitution

and the Bill of Rights.

These documents established a republic governed by law,

but more importantly, they created safeguards

designed to protect the individual from the abuse of power.

What fascinates me about this doctrine

is how clearly it distinguishes between individual rights

and collectivism in every society groups inevitably form.

Communities, governments, and institutions

must exist to create order and cooperation.

But collectivism, when taken too far,

can shift authority away from the individual

and into the hands of the group.

When that happens, the group begins deciding

what rights the individual may exercise,

what property they may own, what ideas they may express,

or how they may live their lives.

Natural rights philosophy pushes back against that idea.

It insists that individuals possess

rights independent of the collective.

That principle is not about political ideology.

It is not conservative or liberal.

It is simply the philosophical foundation

upon which the American republic was built.

At the same time, natural rights do not exist in isolation.

They come with an important responsibility,

one that was articulated clearly by Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln often emphasized that our freedoms extend

only as far as they do not violate the freedoms of others.

In other words, liberty must exist alongside restraint.

My right to speak does not include the right

to silence someone else.

My right to property does not allow me

to seize what belongs to another.

True liberty requires a balance between personal freedom

and respect for the freedom of others.

This balance is where the rule of law becomes essential.

The rule of law is not meant to control

every aspect of human behavior.

Instead, its purpose is to establish clear protections

that ensure natural rights are preserved.

Laws create boundaries that prevent power,

whether governmental or social,

from overwhelming the individual.

The founders of the United States understood this deeply.

They designed a system of government

with checks, balances, and limitations,

precisely because they feared the concentration of power.

And despite the imperfections of our history

because we have certainly made mistakes,

this system has endured for more than two centuries.

It has created a nation where people

from every corner of the world continue to arrive,

seeking opportunity, freedom, and self-determination.

I've spoken with many friends

who came to America from other lands.

When you ask them why they came here,

the answer is often very simple.

They came because of the rights individuals possess

in this country, that idea still matters today.

Natural rights remind us that freedom

is not something that governments create.

It is something they are supposed to protect.

And as citizens of a republic,

preserving those rights requires vigilance,

responsibility, and respect for one another.

My hope is that these principles first

discussed by philosophers centuries ago

and later embedded in America's founding documents

continue to guide us, that we remember

why the Declaration of Independence was written,

why the Constitution was drafted,

and why the Bill of Rights exists.

Because when those principles are honored,

individuals flourish.

And when individuals flourish, the republic remains strong.