Quote Originally Posted by Pancho Villa View Post
That's a specific philosophic belief that many people no longer adhere to.

So it makes sense that a lot of people don't "understand" that. They just don't believe in the philosophic principles that give rise to that sort of thing.
It is not a specific philosophical belief. Our rights are defined in these documents as self-evident and inalienable, meaning they do not necessarily need to be defined and they cannot be transferred or surrendered. They are naturally occurring properties of the human condition. Our founding fathers meant they were endowed by God, and I'm sure that's what you are referring to. This is not necessarily so, depending on one's own beliefs, but belief in God and acknowledgement that a person is born with the inherent right to speak his mind, think his thoughts, and defend his life (et al.) are not mutually exclusive concepts.