All rights are from"God" if there is such a being. As a humanist rights are just a natural part of being a sentiment being. However as far as this thread is concerned none of that matters, Martin is just trying to stir the pot again.
Actually, it’s a GREAT thread and psychologically, it matters a lot. If one is so inclined to believe that God gave us those “unalienable” rights then the mindset should be that man, no matter what position he or she holds in the line of power can take them away. On the other hand, if one has no belief that there is a god who by whatever power gave us our right to live and prosper and that it is man who can determine his own freedoms as well another man’s rights then the mindset would be that we have no rights and whatever rights we have can be bestowed upon us by another human as well as taken away by the same. That written, again on a psychological basis it stands as moot because the alpha’s of humanity can and do invoke their own whims upon others for the better and / or certainly for the worse. Now, not trying to be too corrective but I do believe you meant “Sentient beings” as opposed to Sentiment beings. If that is the case then one’s sentiency has no bearing on rights if it is based on secular humanism for indeed, that would conclude that each individual is intrinsically ethical and may I add, moral which we know is not true. Even in the humanistic belief system, whilst all men are of value and certainly equal, we find that some are more equal and valuable than others. As we all witnessed during the Cold War, one of the first things the Soviets did was to discourage the thought that any rights came from a god and that it was the Party’s duty to outline what “rights” the populous had. On the flip side of that coin we have some religious sects which agreed that all rights came from God but it was their job to interpret what those rights were (or are as the case may be) and those interpretations are much less than ideal. Now, I personally believe without any reservations that as a creation of God, I have been given certain rights and the Constitution of the United States agrees with that principle which also takes on that same ethical and moral position.
If your rights were determined by the Mullah’s or some other dictatorial leader you’d care. No matter what your personal beliefs are, it is they who determine your “rights” and how and where you will live. When the mindset is that it is God who gives us our freedom and not some man or group of men, we’ll do anything to preserve those rights.
As humans we have made a pact among ourselves. It is called civilization and for the continued success of our species we have all volunteered to temper these rights with responsibilities. Our organization starts with government. Therefore we are subservient to government even as a "free" people. Most of us go along with the many restrictions to our, "freedoms", especially when we know that it is for the good of society. eg. licensing for professions,driving, wearing a mask,not screaming fire in a crowded theater. Then we have the outliers who for whatever reason feel their rights,no matter the cost to society are paramount. Not unzipping my flame suit yet!
Ah, so you’re not really a humanist like you formerly stated. A humanist has a high regard for all humans and doesn’t leave any room for singular privilege over another and let’s face it, you do enjoy privilege which is totally separate from rights. Your privileges can be taken away by the stroke of a pen but your rights are by constitution and by belief of it’s infallibility, unalienable. As an example, your privilege to go an sit with others and have people visit has recently been revoked. You may be paying for what you believe to be rights, but they’re just privileges.
Throughout all of a near lifetime set of experiences and you believe that the word “privilege and rights” have a singular meaning? I really, really do think you’re so much smarter than that. As far as the humanist value goes, since you call yourself one you do know that I wrote the exact truth. Or is it that you haven’t studied the “religion” enough to know what the truth is? Now, other than that, what part is nonsense?
I never said anything about privilege. Here is all that I said. I personally don't care where the rights that I enjoy come from or originated. Tell me why I should? Now isn't that a pretty clear statement?
Dang, you're kinda porky today Lon. I don't know that you should care, although you should appreciate the fact that you have them. I mean you could be a galley slave,or dog food. I find it kind of pitiful that your sum total of life seems to be that by sheer luck of the draw you became the highest form of biological life on the planet. Do you really have no sense of wonder, or are you perfectly content to be of no consequence?
PORKY? That's a new one. No I have no sense of wonder and luck has nothing to do with my being or who I am. I wonder about many things but my existence is not one of them.
Hear, Hear! May I say that your last two sentences are something I would expect an Aristotelean commentator to muse. Very well said!