When in the course of our Republic it becomes necessary to reaffirm the foundations upon which legitimate government rests, let it be plainly stated: We did not claim that ALL laws descend from the Creator. We claimed THREE rights exist prior to any earthly authority.
Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
These are not gifts from Congress. Not grants from the Supreme Court. Not privileges bestowed by majority vote. They ARE—existing before our Constitution was ratified, persisting if our government should fall.
We hold this truth to be self-evident: Your mind is YOUR sovereign territory. Protected by the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Tenth Amendments—cognitive sovereignty is the foundation upon which all other constitutional rights depend.
Before any government, before any church, before any collective—your thoughts, beliefs, and conscience existed as the most fundamental domain of human freedom. Government may restrict your ACTIONS where they harm others. Government may NEVER restrict your thoughts, beliefs, or the private workings of your mind.
We hold this truth to be self-evident: Your existence requires no permission.
Before any Congress convened, before any President took oath, human beings WERE—we existed. The right to exist springs not from statute but from the Author of Nature. No bureaucracy granted it. No legislature may revoke it.
Our government's sole commission regarding life: PROTECT it from those who would extinguish it within our jurisdiction.
We hold this truth to be self-evident: You were born FREE—of conscience, movement, and speech—not in chains requiring permission to move, speak, or think.
Before our Constitution was ratified, before our federal agencies were established, humans possessed freedom of conscience, movement, and speech. These freedoms did not await our government's invention. They existed in nature, requiring only protection from those who would suppress them.
Our government's commission: SAFEGUARD liberty from tyrants who would bind it—not enumerate which liberties citizens may exercise.
We hold this truth to be self-evident: You may labor toward YOUR vision of flourishing—not the government's or elected officials' prescribed purpose for your existence.
Before any federal agency allocated resources or redistributed wealth, humans cultivated land, built businesses, formed families, and kept the fruits of their labor. These pursuits required no bureaucrat's permission—they sprang from human nature itself.
Our government's commission: PROTECT your property and pursuits from those who would plunder them—not define what happiness means or redistribute your earnings toward collective visions.
Your life has value BEFORE any vote
Your freedom exists BEFORE any permission
Your mind is YOUR sovereign territory BEFORE any algorithmic manipulation
Your pursuit of happiness requires no bureaucratic approval
These rights ARE. Congress does not make them so. The Supreme Court merely recognizes what already existed—or betrays its sole purpose for existence.