YOUR AMERICAN YARDSTICK

by Hamilton Abert Long

TWELVE BASIC
AMERICAN PRINCIPLES
Underlying The Traditional American Philosophy
Of Man-Over-Government

It is basic that all statements made in the following pages about Man's rights--his liberties or freedoms--are to be considered as subject to the fact of the existence of the inseparable duty factor of Individual Liberty-Responsibility and especially this factor's primary aspect. This aspect is the duty to respect the equal rights of others. The term Individual Liberty always connotes Liberty-Responsibility because Liberty cannot exist separate and apart from Responsibility, nor Right from Duty.

The term "unalienable rights" should, in every instance of its use, be read as meaning God-given, unalienable rights, because the only basis for considering them to be unalienable is the fundamental and uniquely American concept of their Divine origin--that Man possesses them solely by reason of endowment by his Creator. Unless considered to be of Divine origin, these rights cannot properly be classified as being unalienable. They are then subject to being considered as mere conditional privileges granted by government. In such case, there can be no moral or constitutional basis for objecting to their violation, by government or by others, such as exists in the case of God-given rights as protected traditionally by the American constitutional system; such government-granted privileges are not comparable in dignity with God-given rights.

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