WHICH OF OUR RIGHTS IS NEXT TO GO?

In May 2022 after three years of edits and drafts, I finally published in Medium one of my “think piece” articles about 59 rights and beliefs that I thought American citizens were entitled to.

The flawed reasoning behind the leaked Alito authored draft Supreme Court ruling has caused me to wonder — which of these rights will this politically inspired, one religion-oriented Supreme Court majority decide to take away next?

I estimate that only 17 of my 59 are specifically listed in, or inferred by, the Constitution. Some of the other 42 are personal freedoms or beliefs about rights “deeply rooted in our nation’s history and tradition.” Others are well-established rights protected by federal laws and agencies. I believe all are rights covered by the Ninth Amendment which states, ”The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” The following fourteen rights and beliefs are examples of what I think was intended when the Ninth Amendment was approved. I don’t believe that any of them were rights that existed when the Constitution was written.

1. The right to have a dependable supply of tap water that is safe to drink, the right to breathe clean air, and the right to eat the fish I catch in lakes, streams, and rivers with confidence.
2. The right to eat food that is free of harmful contaminants.
3. The right to feel confident that the products I buy are safe.
4. The right to know that any money of mine held by a bank is safe.
5. The right to travel on good highways and across safe bridges.
6. The right to live anywhere in this country I can afford.
7. The right to avoid being discriminated against because of my age, sex, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation.
8. The right to marry whomever I wish (with their agreement).
9. The right to be paid for the work I do with no regard to my age, sex, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation.
10. The right to know that the people I vote to represent me will support our allies and not collude with our enemies.
11. The right to have confidence that government agencies whose mission is to protect our health make decisions based on medically sound, not economically based reasons.

This project proved to be very worthwhile for me –as I hope doing it would be for you. In all future elections, I hope the news media and all citizens will require all candidates to state their beliefs about the rights they believe their constituents are entitled to — and how they will protect them.

Thank you for reading this! I write because I think readers will find what I write informative and thought provoking. Happily retired, I now have the time it takes to take an idea, do the research needed to fully understand it (and not embarrass myself!), make the first outline, then the first draft, then start the rewriting, and, finally, the editing. Then it goes to several friends, including a Ph. D. in English. Then, it’s back to rewriting and editing. Then it goes out to possible readers. What you just read was the result of that process. Despite their help, I assume full blame for any mistakes (and there have been some).

If you are still reading, and you found what I wrote worthwhile, you might want to look up my other Medium articles.

One last note. I write to make readers think and because I enjoy it — not to make money. Any income derived from my writing is donated to the local library as part of my annual contribution.

Thanks!

Jim Hammons
“Think Piece” Commentaries