This column will be my last for the Badger Herald. I would like to thank all my readers, all of my editors past and present and all those who have tried to make a difference on the issues I care about. I will always love this paper, just as I have loved nearly every minute of the labor of writing for it. I have decided to part ways with the Herald due to a disagreement in the direction in which the opinion section is moving. If anyone would like to continue reading my pieces I encourage them to look around for them.

And so with my final words in this publication I would like to talk about natural law and the rights of man. The rights of man come from nature. Our nation is founded on the very notion that “all men” are “endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights: among these life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” John F. Kennedy argued that the Cold War was fought over the American ideal that “the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hands of god.” The United Nations was founded largely on the need for an international institution to ensure these natural rights.

The most disturbing thing about the modern world is that we seem to have forgotten the value of these natural rights.

Decent health care should be a right for everyone. Everyone deserves treatment that could save their life. Republicans in the house have shut down the government because of their opposition to this notion.

The Supreme Court has slowly eroded the rights of the individual as its recent decisions have resulted in unwarranted DNA swabs, an inability to enforce the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the elimination of the right to remain silent without invoking the Fifth Amendment.

President Obama has devalued the rights of American citizens by keeping the NSA’s massive spying program in place.

On a state level Act 10 devalued the rights of public workers in Wisconsin, and Walker has taken actions on abortion that belittle the rights of women.

In modern America the rights of the individual have been belittled by systems of power that conspire against the weakest in our society, by a government that constantly feels threatened and ultimately by the people. I am disturbed by the lack of outrage at the slow evaporation of our rights. We, the people, are condoning the elimination of the rights of the individual by continuing to vote for politicians who make laws that disregard these rights, and by engaging in political rhetoric that is divisive and frankly dangerous.

People don’t respect each other and don’t care about the success of the general public. Too many people have a worldview that is narrowly tailored to their values and experience. In order to be a responsible citizen you must look at the big picture and you must care about the guy sitting next to you.

Democracy only works if we vote with the people’s best interest in mind. We must demand better from our leaders and of ourselves. The rights of the individual are natural. They come not from the chicken scratch of law makers, but from something intangible that must be recognized. We are taking away our own rights by allowing our democracy to make decisions that have slowly chipped away at the Bill of Rights.

If we wish to preserve the freedom and liberty that the Bill of Rights grants us, we must demand a movement to restore the rights that we have lost. In order to be good citizens we must have each other’s best interest in mind.

Spencer Lindsay ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in political science.