Issue Position: Freedom of the Individual

Issue Position

Our Declaration of Independence proclaimed what it called a "self-evident" truth, "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Thus, our most basic human rights are considered universal or God-given, not Government-given. The rebel colonists, like later generations, fought for our independence at great cost to life, families and property, as some proclaimed "give me liberty, or give me death!" Our U.S. Constitution begins with the words "We the People," promptly protects political, religious, assembly and property rights in its first amendments, and over time went on to ever expand the fullness of our protected freedoms by ending slavery and involuntary servitude, expanding voting rights to women and younger adults, and otherwise. For the first time in world history, a bloody civil war was fought by and between the majority in order to preserve a union and to totally free a minority from slavery and servitude. America's later entries into and winning World Wars, its constructive buildup and protection of Europe and Japan after WWII, its civil rights movement in the "60s, and its containing and rollback of Communism, are all examples of stepping up and taking critical action for freedom.

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