Ryan Says Rights Come From God

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) says American citizens’ rights come from “nature and God”. Speaking during an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC, Ryan argued that the Affordable Care Act of 2010, recently upheld by the Supreme Court, should be repealed because “We disagree with the notion that our rights come from government, that the government can now grant us and define our rights. Those are ours, they come from nature and God, according to the Declaration of Independence.”

There are a couple of things wrong here.

Our rights as citizens come from neither God, nature, the Declaration of Independence, or the government: they come from the citizens themselves. They are a contractual guarantee specified by the Constitution, and specifically that portion of it called the Bill of Rights. This civic contract was entered into by the original 13 states voting in representative conventions. These rights are interpreted for us by the Supreme Court, in a judicial role set forth in that same Constitution. Our rights can be altered or augmented through the amendment process as set forth in that same document, the Constitution. One would hope that anyone serving in our government would be cognizant of these fundamental facts about the basis of our government and society.

Paul Ryan is a fool who should not be entrusted with governing power.