Darn it, Sunni - I've been meaning to write a screed bashing the concept of rights, and now you've taken all the wind out of my sail!

Seriously, very well said. I think as we explore personal, mental freedom more and more, we're going to see that these "mental shortcuts" we've been taking (there's more than just the concept of rights) separate us from reality, even as they give us warm fuzzies. It's not freedom if it doesn't exist in the real world. So the concept of rights, even though they are generally useful, can explain a lot of our current problems in society. The bottom line is that if you rely on a third party for your freedom, you're not very free, and rights have no meaning if they do not invite enforcement (if you're just going to defend your own interests, you can do that without rights, and I am starting to retool my approach towards this anyway).

Again very well said! I'll be ripping off your essay posting something similar in the not too distant future, I hope.

- Jeremy
http://blog.6thdensity.net