"A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right"

What in the world is going on? Segments of the population seem so aroused that violence has erupted on a topic that should be everyone's concern. Health care reform. For a small group any change is viewed as an attack on their way of life. It is so distorted that while they accept the invisible hand of the market place as a positive force when there is no such sentiment for government and the rule of law. A lot of this springs from the concept of rights. What indeed is a right? It is actually not something given to you by government. It is one of a host of human capacities and how each individual chooses to express it.

The law makes a list of those you can not exercise or carries restrictions. Look at the language of the Constitution, the first amendment, for example:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

The Constitution does not give you these rights. You already have them. It forbids the legislature from exercising their rights to restrict or eliminate these human acts. It is actually limiting the rights of government.

So when people try to assert a right it must be in the context of whether the law allows it or forbids it. If it allows it, there will usually be no expression in the law stating an opinion. This is the fine line at these town halls with people trying to assert their right to speak louder and in a hostile manner against others or whoever is on the podium. In addition, besides the law there are societal rules of decorum. Being rude is not against the law but it will isolate you from your fellow human beings. If you are not peaceful in an assembly, the law is clear, you can not do this. If you are unkind, your fellow citizens will ostracize you and try to coerce you to cease. This is a societal norm, not an expression of the law. One must always be careful if a certain behavior is not allowed by law or is outside what a majority of citizens accepts as reasonable behavior.

Society serves our needs and wants. The government's role is to make sure we do not injure or kill ourselves in the process. It is true enough that wants and needs should be easily expressed but laws demand laborious effort and input with maximum attention to our ability to reason and observe, and use past experience.

Yet we know we can not totally dismiss those who express themselves in such disruptive and sometimes dangerous ways. They predict how a law, just in its nascency, may play out once it is enacted. We depend on the expertise of our legislators to take this into account or be prepared for controlling any uncivil action. When the Civil Rights Laws were brought to the floor for voting, some senators tried to filibuster the bills. It was very trying but it gave a heads up of the kind of resistance that was in store after passage. Although we each think we know how to fashion a perfect world, the truth is we live with others who have a different view. Even if there is some tense moments in making law, in the end we must all live together. Going too far out on a limb with our disgust or making your counter point feel humiliated will bring us to a dangerous place.

In the end it must be clearly shown how the suffering of a group affects the whole. Reason must be pre-eminent over belief. Without such a commitment from both sides of a conflicting rights battle, the nation will be lost.

Finally the quote in the title is from Thomas Paine written over 230 years ago. It appeared in his treatise "Common Sense" that argued for the creation of this great nation. He knew however that there would be resistance, but eloquently pleaded for studied reason to prevail. Times have not changed very much in that regard as we continue to fashion our laws.