From Whom do rights flow?

America is one of a kind. What separates us from the rest of the nations in the world down through the ages?

It’s not our size. Bigger empires have come and gone.

It’s not our ethnicity, because we’re a melting pot of different races and ethnic groups. 

It’s not even our Constitution, as brilliant as it is. Other nation’s have Constitutions. Some, such as Liberia and the Philippines, have modeled their respective Constitutions on ours, and yet they don’t compare to the U.S.

So what it is it? Simple. It’s the America Creed, as articulated in the Declaration of Independence. As drafted by Thomas Jefferson on July 4th, 1776, the Creed declares:

“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.”

Our nation’s ‘glue’

This is the glue that bound this nation together. Until now. In an extraordinary exchange on the Senate floor, former Vice President candidate and the junior senator from Virginia, Tim Kaine, utterly rejected the American Creed with this diatribe:

“The notion that rights don’t come from laws and don’t come from the government, but come from the Creator — that’s what the Iranian government believes. It’s a theocratic regime that bases its rule on Shia law and targets Sunnis, Bahá’ís, Jews, Christians and other religious minorities. They do it because they believe that they understand what natural rights are from their Creator. So, the statement that our rights do not come from our laws or our governments is extremely troubling.

I’m a strong believer in natural rights, but I have a feeling if we were to have a debate about natural rights in the room and put people around the table with different religious traditions, there would be some significant differences in the definitions of those natural rights.”

Built on a Judeo-Christian foundation

Perhaps Senator Kaine forgot that Western Civilization was built upon a Judeo-Christian foundation, not an Islamic edifice. Who cares what Iran thinks!

Perhaps Senator Kaine forgot that the American Creed was written by the founder of his own political party, not the ayatollah.

Tragically, though, the issue isn’t really forgetfulness. It’s rejection. Like the rest of his political party, Mr. Kaine doesn’t believe in a God-given, fundamental, inalienable right to Life. Rather, he is aggressively pro-choice, as his campaign website makes clear.

The Catholic Mr. Kaine speaks from both sides of his mouth on the abortion issue. He says he is a ‘strong’ believer in natural rights. But when push comes to shove, he not only supported the Reproductive Freedom For All Act which codifies Roe v Wade, he INTRODUCED the bill.

In other words, he is NOT a ‘strong’ supporter of natural rights. Rather, he is a leader within his own party in promoting abortion, which is a denial of natural rights and the American Creed.

Bishop Robert Barron responds

Catholic Bishop Robert Barron pushed back against Kaine’s rejection of the Declaration:

“What this means is that the government neither invents nor grounds our rights; rather, in the words of the Declaration, it secures them. Our rights come before government, and they come, objectively, from God.”

Tragically, Senator Kaine’s views are overwhelmingly the views of his political party rather than his Catholic faith or America’s Founding Fathers. 

ALL members of his party not only oppose ANY regulation on abortion, they unanimously oppose the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act which mandates medical care for babies who survive their abortions.

Senator Kaine’s rejection of the American Creed is the most serious threat America faces. His party increasingly rejects the Judeo-Christian underpinnings of Western Civilization and the principles upon which it was founded: God-given rights to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

It’s somewhat understandable. Mr. Kaine’s party is composed of just as many non-Christians as Christians today, in stark contrast to 88% Christian in the 1970s.

Catholics dominated Democratic voters in the 1970s, by far their biggest religious voting block at 31% compared to just 18% in 2024 [Pew Research]. Rather than change course and try to win back pro-life Catholic voters, they double down on policies in direct contradiction to the American Creed.

The Declaration’s lessons

They have forgotten the lessons of the Declaration of Independence:

That all men, all women, born and unborn, are graced by God NOT ONLY with a right to pursue their dreams, and NOT ONLY with a right to be free. It’s more, so much more, than that … because dreams and freedom are denied if your very Life has been sacrificed on the altar of abortion.

The Declaration leads us inevitably to the most shocking political revelation in history: That YOUR life matters because you enjoy unearned God-given rights. And these rights begin immediately, the second you enter this world … at your conception.

Abortion is a direct assault on what made … and what makes America great.

Bishop Barron summarizes the beauty of the American Creed this way:

“We are a nation “under God,” as Lincoln says in the Gettysburg Address. And this is not just pious decoration; it is a powerful political statement. Our government recognizes the objective rights that come from outside of government – rights that it exists to serve, not establish.”

So from whom do rights flow? This is THE flashpoint roiling America specifically and Western Civilization generally.

==>[Support Pulse’s pro-life educational outreach with your gift today.] <==