Is life our most important civil liberty?

Question

Mitt Romney said this last night. I disagree, but I was wondering which civil liberty you think is most important, If you had to give up all of them except one, would it be you're life that you keep?

Answer 1

In other words would you want to live without the rest of them?

Tough question.

Answer 2

It would have to be.  Without life, you cannot have any other rights.

Answer 3

No.  For example, I'd rather be a free person for 30 years than a slave for 80 years. The problem with "life is our most important civil liberty" is that it's not just a liberty, it's a common thread--everyone is alive until they're dead, and guess what? EVERYONE WILL DIE, so there's an individual term limit on it. The important thing is what we do--hopefully for our children, for as many humans as possible--with whatever life we have. We cannot, as a government, ensure that people in the future have "life" (though we can help by, say, not bombing too many of them). But we can try to ensure, as our founding fathers did, that people for NUMEROUS generations beyond us will have freedom.

Answer 4

Not necessarily.  Some of our founding fathers, and others throughout history have described conditions under which life, for them, would be insufferable.  "Give me liberty or give me death."  "I might not agree with everything you say, but I would defend to the death your right to say it."Do those ring a bell?  I don't believe those words were spoken lightly.  If life were the most important civil liberty the U.S. wouldn't have an army.  Our citizens would be so concerned with the preservation of American lives we would put up with any sort of external threat or national subjugation to avoid risking them.  Personally, I think free speech would be one thing worth dieing for, though I hope I never have to put that theory to the test.

Answer 5

If I had to give up all other rights, I'm not sure that my life would be worth having.

Answer 6

For me, the freedom to make the choice of where I stand on any issue, and the freedom to implement or maintain those choices.  That is my most important civil liberty.

Answer 7

Absolutely not.

I agree with you -- to live without freedom is no sort of life I'd like to live.

If I had to give up one liberty -- with a guarantee that all of the others would remain the same -- I wouldn't vote.

Answer 8

No, freedom of conscience is our most important civil liberty. Anyone who says life is our most civil liberty is no defender of the constitution. Give me liberty or give me death.