Odessa

Many Americans who can read and who have bothered to read the Constitution (never mind the illiterates), believe that the Constitution gives them rights. They believe, for instance, that the First Amendment gives people the right of freedom of speech. That's wrong, of course. The First Amendment does not grant people freedom of speech . . . it prohibits Government from abridging freedom of speech. That distinction is like the difference between night and day. Unfortunately it is one that too many fail to appreciate. Fact is, people’s rights are fundamental and inherent, and they preexist any government. Thus, the Framers didn’t give people rights in the Constitution but rather prohibited the government from taking such innate rights away. That’s why the founding document uses the words “no” or “not” some 46 times.