Inalienable rights aren’t just yours; they’re ours

Old memories are funny things. They sleep unnoticed, almost forgotten until triggered. It could be something small, a smell, a sound, a song on the radio. Or it could be something bigger, like breaking news that brings reminders of times past.

This week it’s fitting that as we head into the holiday weekend, big events have triggered my memory of old words.

I can still see my high school history teacher pacing the classroom, her voice filled with passion as she recited them, words so important we memorized them as a major part of our grade.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

While people will always disagree about how we enact or execute these truths, most of the politics in this country aim to achieve or protect the sentiments so eloquently expressed in the preamble to our Declaration of Independence. It may have been written for a fledgling country intent on escaping tyranny, but those truths are just as strong today.

This past week, those words resonated with Americans from sea to shining sea in response to two Supreme Court decisions. The Affordable Care Act was upheld, and same-sex marriage was legalized in all 50 states.

At their essence, without political posturing and imperfect implementations, those decisions go back to the foundation of this country. They’re about health and love, the foundations of life and happiness.

Yes, I know not everyone sees eye to eye on these issues. I have friends and family with viewpoints across the spectrum. And from strangers I’ve seen and heard enough debate and discussion on these issues to ignite a fireworks display befitting the Fourth of July.

That’s the beauty of living in America, where the First Amendment affords us the right to believe what we want and say what we believe.

As a people, we’re pretty good at that.

We’re also pretty good at pounding the table while clamoring for our rights. Sometimes the political arguments from both sides of the aisle sound like children who haven’t yet mastered the art of sharing their toys.

It’s like we’re sitting in the sandbox shouting “mine!”

My fireworks! My money! My guns! My Confederate battle flag!

The concept of “my rights” is great when it isn’t at the expense of someone else’s rights. When it isn’t toy hoarding while throwing sand.

I will never forget how I felt when our children were small and on the Washington State Basic Health plan. We both worked and lived within our means but didn’t have access to health insurance any other way. Without insurance, we quickly learned, most doctors won’t see you without a lot of cash paid up front.

When an articulate relative railed against government involvement in health care and the very insurance that enabled my toddler to get immunizations and see a doctor when the flu turned into bronchitis, I felt as though I’d been slapped, as though my child, whose breath came in rasping gasps and coughs, shouldn’t have the same care as this relative’s children received.

It felt as though my baby didn’t matter to him, that her health was too high a cost for society to bear. He didn’t want to share. But health isn’t a toy. Neither is liberty or happiness.

This week, complaints about burn bans and the inability to set off unsanctioned fireworks are the adult equivalent of a child shouting “mine!” with nary a nod to the fire and safety dangers or post-traumatic stress suffered by veterans who fought to protect the rights we celebrate.

After the horrific shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, and a rash of recent church fires in the South, I’ve read about people crying out for their right to fly a battle flag that’s steeped in a hateful history, a history that dishonors the equal rights we all deserve.

I’ve also listened as people use such tragedies to clutch their guns to their chests like beloved children.

It makes me sad and angry. We must never forget one of the most essential lessons of childhood – putting people first.

This idea is so important it was included in the closing of our nation’s Declaration, though most of us probably didn’t memorize this portion in history class.

“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

Honestly, I don’t fully understand the scope of that sentiment, but I know that fighting to have and keep equality requires the resolve of such a pledge. Our lives, fortunes and honor are bound to how well we remember this.

That’s why no matter how far we come as a country, we can do better. Too many events since last July 4 show us that we must still work for everyone’s equal right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We must put people first.

That’s what I’m remembering this holiday weekend. Our celebration isn’t just a historical observance. It’s a current event.