Monday, July 4, 2011

Buerkle Cynically Misrepresents the Meaning of the Declaration of 1776

Ann Marie Buerkle made a claim at the Manlius Republican Community Forum last week that made Blueskygirl's skin crawl. 

Buerkle claimed, without proof, that the Declaration of Independence either explicitly or tacitly guarantees the Right to Life in the context of opposing abortion.

Here is the beautifully crafted sentence:

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.
Can she be serious? Has she ever studied the meaning and context of the Declaration? How could thousands of historians and philosophers have missed this?

While the words "right" and "life" do appear in the Preamble of the Declaration, no serious scholar has ever suggested that the words refer to the issue of abortion.  

To the contrary, it points to the grievances that the colonies had against England, which included infringement of individual freedom.

To distort it to serve the Tea Party or the narrow concerns of the Right to Life movement is a disgrace.

Happy Independence Day.



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