Universally Accepted Expectations or Constitutional Rights.

The Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Independence lay out a small number of Rights that are not to be denied to citizens and States. The overall number of these Basic Human Rights is small, reflecting an ideal of freedom from tyranny imposed by government. Some people wish to increase the number of these Rights, most often with the intent of forcing all citizens to be chained to some group’s opinion.

However, there are actions taken by individual citizens that are universally accepted; actions we all expect other citizens are likely to do. I introduce the term Universally Accepted Expectations to categorize these expectations and desires. Universally Accepted Expectations are very important expressions of individuality but are distinct from legal Rights; ones that must be allowed in all but extreme cases. Some of these Universally Accepted Expectations seem almost too silly to mention, for example, eating, sleeping, playing sports, and pursuit of musical and artistic activites. Others, such as driving a car are also Universally Accepted Expectations, are clearly individual actions where legal restrictions based on community and safety standards are strongly applied. There are other Universally Accepted Expectations that may be less obvious at first glance but are also of utmost importance.

One set of Universally Accepted Expectations are the overlapping desires to own a house and to own property. There is no need to declare a legal Right to own a house. It is generally accepted that people may desire to own a house, and to own property. [As an aside, this particular universal expectation that we have of others and the nearly universal desire we have for ourselves neatly negates the chance Communism will ever succeed!] Reading over the discussions surrounding the adoption of the U.S. Constitution shows that some Founders would have listed property as a basic human Right. However, other citizens, primarily those from the Western regions of the Colonies could not accept this. Too many small farmers and settlers in the Western counties had lived under the thumb of large landowners who claimed large tracts of land making it difficult for a new settler to set up a home of their own. One specific example of Property being used to discriminate against citizens was the right to vote. In many Colonies, and later as States, the right to vote was limited to those owning substantial property. [This continued in some States until 1856!] There was no way small landowners, settlers, and renters…