Passel Hills Farm

The other day I was reading to our children the first paragraph from “The Rights of the Colonists” by Samuel Adams.

“Among the natural rights of the Colonists are these: First, a right to life; Secondly, to liberty; Thirdly, to property; together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they can.” Samuel Adams, The Rights of the Colonists The Report of the Committee of Correspondence to the Boston Town Meeting, Nov. 20, 1772 Old South Leaflets no. 173 (Boston: Directors of the Old South Work, 1906) 7: 417-428.

I was impressed when they could name the first three natural rights: Life, Liberty, and Property. Thank you Tuttle Twins!

Before I dive into this deeper, there is a point that needs to be made clear: No one has a right to anyone else’s labor. That is not a right. I will be expounding on some thoughts about the right to grow food and to participate in commerce. These two rights branches off the right of life. I am advocating about how it should work, not necessarily how it works today.

During the brief discussion with our children, I went on to explain there are many rights in the categories of life, liberty, and property. A very important part which is vital to understanding individual rights and is not taught is a person’s rights cannot demand labor from another. The Right to Life, for example, encompasses the right of self-preservation, work, and sustenance. Let’s take the right to work. This has been co-opted by the Marxists and Unions. As an individual, we have a right to work as far as our ability allows. Work does not have to be provided to us, but we have to do the work ourselves. We do not have a right to the labor of another person without just compensation. We have a right and a duty to provide for our own sustenance. Others cannot be forced to provide for our sustenance. Charity should provide for those who are unable to sustain themselves. No one should force us to give up our labor for someone else without some exchange. By paying taxes, we received some form of return. Examples of this would include police, public roads, etc. Since we do not live in a solely agriculture-based economy where everyone grows their own food, farmers grow extra to sell to those who are not able to grow their own. Since we all have a right to life, we should be allowed to participate in this informed exchange of goods. This exchange of food falls under commerce, and therefore provides an incentive to both parties to participate in this commerce.

We have a right to grow food and the right to participate in commerce to purchase food we personally choose. The thought of not being allowed to participate in commerce to purchase basic sustenance should be a foreign thought to some. However, I would say that the vaccine mandates of 2021 infringed not only on the right to body autonomy but also on the right to participate in commerce. For some who refused the injection of an experimental substance, faced unemployment and the threat of not being able to participate in commerce. But where does it stop? By excluding those who refused the experimental substance, from being able to work and ultimately being able to participate in commerce, was a threat to The Right to Life. In this day and age, people cannot grow all their food, so they must be able to participate in commerce to purchase sustenance.

Using 21st century technology, China has been able to take the vision of Mao to its fullest extent. The Chinese people enact tyranny upon themselves by self-censoring and following the tyrannical rules in order to participate in commerce. They must have a good social credit score to make any purchase or participate in society. For example, in order to leave their apartment building, they must scan their face and smile in order to leave! At the grocery store, a good score is needed to purchase basic items, and the score goes up in order to purchase what some would call luxuries. The ability to use public transportation, charge an electric car, and have electricity is purely based on their social credit score. The tyranny of the 21st century is one must opt-in to society by accepting the tyranny. Otherwise, they are excluded from the basic necessitates of food and shelter. A social credit score can be lowered by saying the wrong thing online, by having the incorrect opinion, or by not practicing the correct religion. We must hold fast to the concept of individual rights!