Masks and Rights

Sure doesn't

This post was inspired by the aggressive ignorance of this woman (video) who insisted that she had the RIGHT to transact business in her bank without complying with its demand that she wear a mask.

In a previous post, an important takeaway is the # of Americans who could pass a basic Citizenship test, only 38% of us!  A corollary of that fact is that a clear majority of us do not understand what our so-called RIGHTS really are.

By definition, our legal (and Constitutional) rights are established in our Declaration of Independence, our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and the rest of the amendments to the Constitution.

Reparations

The first thing that may come to mind when you hear the word “reparations,” “is this an idea whose time has come?”  “No” gets you back to your can of beer and your TV remote, while “Yes” is a much heavier lift.

The next thing that will likely pop into your mind is the obvious question, “should we pay reparations? Yes or No?”  Once again, a “No” is an easy way to dodge the hazards of this question.

This post is NOT about whether we should pay reparations; this post is about the difficulties involved in answering Yes to the question.  Be clear, the fact that a Yes demands thoughtful time and energy is NOT an argument against Reparations.

#2A

This essay concerns the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, not mass shootings and not gun violence (for which, please see 2016  and 2015).

Here is the Second Amendment, in all her 27 words of naked splendor:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

That is the whole thing.