Pax,
Are individual rights/liberty “… more or less important than, say, family/interpersonal relationships, inner peace, religious beliefs, etc.?â€
If I ask you, “Which is more important to you, water or air?†The answer probably would be air because of its more immediate need. However, you will die a horrible death in a short time without water. If given both (but only) air and water you will die a horrible death in weeks without food or even sooner from exposure or other causes.
Liberty (Natural Rights) and the responsibilities which come with Liberty are so intermingled with values of all kinds (including relationships among family, friends, our state and other states) as to be inseparable.
Dr. Maslow’s
hierarchy of needs has been both debunked and supported by others, but there is much food for thought there. Obviously one must survive to address other needs. And physiological needs (e.g. air, food, water, shelter, etc.) must be addressed before being concerned what strangers in other counties (or parishes) think of our politics, etc.
But one glimmer of hope is that more and more people are learning that our Rights can be
addressed individually, but
our Rights exist only because we ensure those Rights for all—not a select few. Therefore, we must ensure we extend Natural Rights to the members of our families and to others with whom we interact or there can be NO “inner peace.†Interestingly, most religious beliefs express this concept in their version of what we call “The Golden Rule.†Moral atheists typically consider the same concept valid for other reasons.
Also, on a continuum which has Liberty (Natural Rights) at the right extreme and total slavery (people are treated as livestock to be bred, used, abused and killed in accordance with some “authority’s†perceived value system) at the left extreme are two points of interest:
1) Near the right extreme is a point of recognized but slight inconvenience.
2) Nearer the left extreme is the flashpoint where people are willing to fight and die to restore lost Natural Rights.
Those two points are of great import to rulers—including those in Washington—as they continually struggle to move both those points to the left.
But that’s for other discussions.