Reflective Essay: The Declaration Of Independence

“The Declaration of Independence states that we have an unalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” ("Universal Declaration of Human Rights," n.d). However, these legitimate rights do not place obligations on other people to sustain our life or make us happy. All of these rights (right to life, liberty and happiness) are the rights to action, not the rewards from other people ("Health Care Is Not a Right," n.d). For instance, the right to life does not mean that others have to feed us or provide us clothing and shelter; it means we have the right to struggle or act to have food and clothing. And, nobody can steal the products of our struggle from us. In other words, we have right to act, and to keep the fruits of our efforts.

If our desire for something enforces a duty on other people to satisfy our needs, then it means we are making others’ devoid of the basic right of independence, in order to make ourselves happy. I think, it is very important to differentiate between need and right. Health care is a basic need that no one can infringe on our right to pursue health care but no one owes us health care. It means the right is not something that somebody gives us – it is something that nobody can take away from us. Under the American system, we have health care right if we pay for it or if we can get it as a result of our actions. But nobody has the right to the services of any professional individual or group simply because he wants them and desperately needs them. There is no such thing as free health care because Government has no money of its own to run the public health