Rights and Government

It's been an interesting week in the news. It seems many (even in the media) need a constitutional refresher.

Claim #1: 
"NFL players have a first amendment right to protest during the national anthem"
Well, yes, and no.  They have a first amendment right to protest without government interference.   Since the government is not taking action against them the first amendment is irrelevant to the NFL protest situation.  And yet we repeatedly hear this as a rationale.

Claim #2:
Recently, Chuck Todd (host of 'Meet the Press' on NBC) said Senate candidate Roy Moore "doesn't appear to believe in the Constitution" because Mr. Moore said our rights come from God.

Here's the clip.

As a political analyst, Chuck Todd should know better.  If he isn't familiar with the basics of our founding documents, he shouldn't serve as an analyst.

Here's the relevant portion of the Declaration of Independence:
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.

Note who does the endowing...the Creator.  The Creator is a synonym for God.  This is one of the key points of the document - rights don't come from government and can't be taken away by government.  The founding documents specifically exists to limit the power of government to ensure individual freedom and protected rights can always be expressed without government interference.

It's disappointing that many in the media and public misinterpret these key points  It's even more disappointing that their statements often go unchallenged by those around them.  If are are unfamiliar with the details of our rights, at worst we will under-utilize them and at worse we will lose them altogether.