Everyone...Except You

There have been numerous instances in history where people have had to fight oppression. The victories from these ethical battle can be seen through the declarations that were written. These span over hundreds of years, from the Magna Carta in 1512 to our own Declaration of Independence. In essence all these documents convey similar messages. In class this week we read the Declaration of Sentiments and it made me realize how ironic this concept of natural rights was. 

John Locke so eloquently said, "...All equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in Life, Health, Liberty, or Possessions." Natural rights are rights that were bestowed upon them by God. Yet, people have had to constantly plea for these rights.This demonstrates a fundamental problem: why do people take away the natural rights of others. 

One way people can be in power is by taking the power away from someone else. By taking away other peoples natural rights they have taken away their only solace of individuality. People get very angered by this, and do so understandably. They believe that if God gave them their rights, then what gives any person- aside from God- the ability to take away this power. And so, they revolt. But they believe they are not fighting for something they need to earn, they are fighting from something that has been taken away.

It would be logical to assume that once someone has had to fight for their own rights that person would never take away the rights of someone else. For example, if ones parents endured poverty, they would try to ensure their progeny would never have to experience that life style. Ironically though, the opposite of this is what happened in America. The American people had to fight for their rights in a bloody battle to earn their unalienable rights. Almost a hundred years later, the women of the country did the same, but without the bloodshed. They drafted their declaration using the same words, but altered some to encompass both men and women, to show how similar their requests were to the men's. Both groups were asking for the same rights, just at different times. And even though the men had asked the same to Great Britain they were reluctant to grant it to the women. And the reason is because, they simply wanted more power.

But it is important that people learn from this. If every person has the same unalienable rights, given to them by God, then it is not only unfair, but umethical, to take these rights away from any one else. In the end, we must all remember we are the same. As Abigail Adams warned her husband to “remember the ladies”, we must all remember each other and not oppress others in our quest for power.