Rhubarb Report: Episode 37

Look around you any day of the week and you will probably find someone in an uproar over their rights. “I have the right to do such and such in this country”, they will say. And yes, Virginia, rights do come with the Constitution and citizenship.

But with those rights come responsibilities. You really can’t have one without the other – at least if you want the system to work effectively.

Episode 37 of the Rhubarb Report delves into the right to stand your ground – depending on the state, of course - along with a discussion of unalienable rights. Should you peruse Episode 37 a little further, you’ll even find a rather intriguing Top 10 list that might just get you thinking, just in time for November’s election.

1. Florida has brought a whole new meaning to the phrase “stand your ground”. Here I was thinking that it meant that you simply held to the points in your argument or debate. When I was younger, it meant standing up to the neighborhood bully – or walking away from him. Little did I know that now it really means that in some states, you have not only the right to self-defense, but also the right to pre-emptively use deadly force when the victim fears death or severe injury, and to do so without retreating. Wow.

As the details in the Trayvon Martin case come to light, it brings attention to the craziness involved when you invoke a law like “stand your ground”. Although this type of law provides a person with rights, it also demands great personal and social responsibility. But how often does this level of responsibility and judgment present itself?

There are times when I think that we are just one step removed from returning to the days of the Wild West.

2. As I was preparing today’s “Consumer’s Guide To Health” podcast – entitled “Fear Of Health Care Reform” – I found the words of Thomas Jefferson resounding in my mind:

“… that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

Life, as we know it, is

“the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, reproduction, and the power of adaptation to environment through changes originating internally”.

But is health - “the general condition of the body or mind with reference to soundness and vigor” – part of life?

Semantics? Philosophy? Constitutionality? Discuss.

3. As the Republican Party struggles to put it's support behind any one credible presidential candidate, President Obama is pulling away in the polls. As it stands today, Obama has a double digit lead on both Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum. According to the polls, people think that the economy is heading in the right direction. His approval rating is over 50% once again.

With that said, I stumbled upon an interesting historical perspective on the presidency – a historical ranking of the Presidents. Wow. A top 10 list for presidents – and it wasn’t one produced by David Letterman! I didn’t realize that so many polls had been done on this topic over time. An aggregate reveals the following Top 10 list: Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Harry S. Truman, Andrew Jackson, Dwight Eisenhower, and James Polk.

If we consider recent history, we have Ronald Reagan at #17, Bill Clinton at #20, George H.W. Bush at #22, George W. Bush at #34, and, yes, current President Barack Obama at #14.

Let the discussion begin.

Photo credits: Wikipedia