The Declaration of Independence and Morality Via Natural Rights

This blog has spent the majority of the time so far exploring moral reasoning and the different ways people process situations and determine "right" from "wrong." We are talking about conscious thought that drives decisions in making individual choices.

I believe reasoning based on Natural Rights to be the best approach of the 7 I researched and described in a previous post. If done well, using Natural Rights as our framework has the best chance for success in creating a stable, trusting and cooperative mutual goal-seeking kind of environment that seeks to mitigate harm. Why would we want this and not a free for all with everyone making decisions based on what would make ourselves, and only ourselves, the happiest? A stable, trusting, cooperative society likely has the best chance of SURVIVAL. If we are willing to consider others in our choices as well as the self we are likely to have the best outcomes for individuals AND the group that, whaddya know, is made up of individuals. Being human, we will never attain perfection but always striving for it gets us as far as we can get.

Here's another "well, what do ya knows"... It seemed like such a great framework the writers of the US Declaration of Independence used this framework and laid out the following rationale statement:

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

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.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

It is true that not all humans believe people are created equal. There are many examples of this throughout the world and in every case, I'm sure we would find significant harm done to individuals and groups of individuals. If we acknowledge and base our morals on humans having innate rights to life, freedom to make one's own choices (while keeping these principles), and a right to own property and improve one's situation we include every single human being in a society. This list of rights does not change with societal norms and are independent of culture. In short, it covers a whole lot of the ground and is timeless. Also of note, no particular religion or faith is named or designated in reference to the "Creator God." The framers had diverse beliefs and one can believe, or not, in a higher power by whatever name. Brilliant!

The truth is always in the pudding, though. Around the world, do societies that hold similar values seem to achieve more as a society, people living in community with each other? Do those that are based on other frameworks leave something to be desired? What say you?

Where do we go from here?