In the simplest terms, a right is something that exists regardless of the actions of others regardless of location.  You have the right to speak your mind, even if there is no one listening, even if the government [...]]]> What does it mean to have a right?  How is it different than a privilege?

In the simplest terms, a right is something that exists regardless of the actions of others regardless of location.  You have the right to speak your mind, even if there is no one listening, even if the government where you live infringes on that right.

Privileges, on the other hand, are benefits available in excess of your ability to secure them alone.  Driving a car, for instance is a privilege dependent on someone building a car and perhaps on building roads, most likely depending on being where cars are available and tolerated.  If you were stranded on an uninhabited island, you would enjoy the right of free speech, as well as the right to the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness.  You would not, however, be able to enjoy the privilege of driving a car or eating a Big Mack or smoking a cigar.  This would require the production of metal and rubber for a car, a Big Mack by McDonald’s, or the rolling of a cigar.  You can also make the argument that you can provide for your own privileges if you are able to roll cigars et. al. for yourself (and others if they show up).

Apply this to the health care debate and decide.  Is health care a basic human right?  If so, it would justify forcing people to become doctors and nurses, so they can be forced to provide this right to everyone.  The Cubans do just that, although not because they decided it is a right, but because they treat all services as controllable by the state.  The right of free speech is not an American right, it is a self evident human right.  Are we able and willing to call health care a human right and take the steps to provide it to the world?  Will we be able to provide health care to more people under the direction of the government, or by the private sector’s insatiable search for new beneficiaries and new ways to satisfy them?