"God-given rights" is a racist expression - Touré Neblett

In his speech, vice-presidential nominee Paul Ryan said that "sometimes, even presidents need reminding, that our rights come from nature and God, not from government."

MSNBC commentator Touré Neblett didn't like this very much:

“He loves this line of ‘our rights come from God and nature,’ which is so offensive to so much of America. Because for black people, Hispanic people, and women, our rights do not come from God or nature. They were not recognized by the natural order of America. They come from the government and from legislation that happens in relatively recent history in America. So that line just bothers me to my core.”

This fellow is either deliberately misstating the situation, or he is maleducated. The Declaration of Independence says: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, 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.” Rights are not granted by government. Rights are not made up according to the winds of pop culture. No government can take rights away and retain its legitimacy.

This means that the "racist" talk of Paul Ryan actually establishes the inherent and unalienable dignity of all men, dignity which government action has impeded on a regular basis. In other words, it is government which has contravened the rights of people, but the statement of the Declaration asserts those rights as pre-existent. Thus. Touré has it backwards, which is no surprise, really, since he obviously is a true believer in the very government that gave assent to the enslavement of his people.

It's too bad that the sad state of American public education no longer seems to teach these concepts. Or perhaps Touré's agenda would not allow him to admit the facts. Either way, it does not speak well of Touré that he holds to such errant ideas, or of MSNBC which allows him on the air.