Right: That which is just, morally good, legal, proper, or fitting. “The personal right to acquire property, which is a natural right, gives to property, when acquired, a right to protection, as a social right.” – James Madison
“The right of the police of Boston to affiliate has always been questioned, never granted, is now prohibited…. There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, any time.” – Calvin Coolidge
Opportunity: A favorable or advantageous circumstance or combination of circumstances or a chance for progress or advancement.
‘O opportunity! thy guilt is great,
‘Tis thou that execut’st the traitor’s treason;
Thou set’st the wolf where he the lamb may get;
Whoever plots the sin, thou point’st the season;
‘Tis thou that spurn’st at right, at law, at reason;
And in thy shady cell, where none may spy him,
Sits Sin to seize the souls that wander by him. – William Shakespeare
Need: A condition or situation in which something is required or wanted.
“We need not only a purpose in life to give meaning to our existence but also something to give meaning to our suffering. We need as much something to suffer for as something to live for.” – Eric Hoffer
Freedom: The condition of being free of restraints
“Freedom to learn is the first necessity of guaranteeing that man himself shall be self-reliant enough to be free.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
Liberty: The right and power to act, believe, or express oneself in a manner of one’s own choosing. Also, the condition of being physically and legally free from confinement, servitude, or forced labor.
“Freedom of enterprise was from the beginning not altogether a blessing. As the liberty to work or to starve, it spelled toil, insecurity, and fear for the vast majority of the population. If the individual were no longer compelled to prove himself on the market, as a free economic subject, the disappearance of this freedom would be one of the greatest achievements of civilization.” – Herbert Marcuse
Do Americans still believe that if a man does not work he shouldn’t eat, generally speaking? Do Americans believe that our current political rights are “inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness,” to quote FDR again?