One of the great benefits of living in the U.S. is the fundamental rights granted to all Americans. There is an aspect to these rights that I believe is greatly overlooked. The tacit implication of having rights is that citizens are equally free not to exercise these rights. This is something that truly gives us freedom.
The First Amendment prevents the government from denying me the freedom to speak, but I also have the fundamental right to keep my thoughts to myself and mind my own business. The Second Amendment grants me the right to collect an arsenal of firearms, but I am equally free to not have a Glock tucked under my pillow.
When the governed are denied rights, this freedom to make a choice evaporates.
Prior to Dobbs v. Jackson, women had the right to both seek an abortion or choose not to if they were opposed to the idea. By striking down Roe v. Wade the Supreme Court diminished everyone’s rights. Those who seek to strip away freedom rather than celebrate it, let me ask you this.
If you are morally opposed to a book in the library, could you just exercise your right to leave it on the shelf?
If you do not agree with same sex marriage, could you just exercise your right not to marry some of the same gender?
If you feel that your children need to see the Ten Commandments at school, can you exercise the right to slip a copy into their lunch box?
If you find the choices others make in their lives to be incorrect, could you just exercise the right to make different choices?
I hope this message reaches those at the forefront of the assault on freedom, our conservative representatives. I don’t think that our Republican supermajority realizes how painful it is to lose rights rather than gain them. Perhaps the closest our condescending legislators have come to understanding the pain we feel every time they meet to “represent” us would be when the Utah Supreme Court denied them the right to ignore the will of the people and gerrymander elections.
David Vala, Taylorsville
