How to Destroy America in Three Easy Steps

by Ben Shapiro

American philosophy rests on three fundamental, eternal, unalienable ideas. First, American philosophy rests on the belief that human beings have real, discernable individual rights. These rights cannot be given away. They do not come from the collective. They adhere to human beings because they are part of human nature: human beings hold inestimable value, and because they have been endowed with the unique capacity to reason. Man’s will is free, and his ability to choose is sacrosanct, and cannot be violated. Second, American philosophy holds it as self-evident that all human beings are created with equal rights. This does not mean that they have equal capacities or qualities, or that their results in life will be equal, or that they begin with equal opportunities. It does mean that law must treat men alike, not distinguish between them on the basis of characteristics beyond their control. Third, American philosophy demands that government protect individual rights, not override them in the name of some greater good. Rights preexist government, and thus government must be limited in orientation. It is not the job of government to usher in a reworking of mankind, but to protect mankind’s nature—and to militate against conflicts between the rights of men. These philosophical principles were put into practice by the Constitution of the United States, the most effective governmental founding document in world history. A government of enumerated powers, checks and balances, an...