Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness; or is it Property, Liberty, and the pursuit of...

Our Declaration of Independence asserted that our inalienable rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  Yet, many argue that we don't have a right to healthcare, because that's socialist.

Thomas Jefferson borrowed that line from John Locke who mentioned the rights of life, liberty, and property. Jefferson didn't think we really deserved the right to property so he changed it. Yet, what rights do we really have in America?

If your property catches on fire the fire department will come and put it out, paid for by your taxes. Isn't that a socialist service? What happens if someone trespasses on or damages your property? Well the police, another socialist service, come and attempt to help with that. So you may not have the right to property outright, but if you own it you apparently have a right to have it protected.

So what rights do you have to your life? That is the right that is actually listed, but do you have a right to have your life protected if it is in danger? Surely if someone injures you or if your house is on fire government run services will come and protect you. They may not charge for those socialist services, but what happens afterwards? What happens if the threat is from within you, such as an illness? You can in fact get treatment at a healthcare facility if your life is truly in danger, but you'll also get a huge bill if you don't have health insurance or if the health insurance decides not to cover it. So is life a right? Why are we fine with paying for the protection of fire and police to respond to our neighbors but not for their health treatment?

Another interesting point is that the government requires us to pay for car insurance if we drive a car. We certainly don't want uninsured vehicles and drivers on the road, they are a liability. Yet, we're ok with uninsured health? Do we really want people that can't afford to pay for their health coverage. If a person is in need of care an ambulance can pick them up, take them to a hospital, and they will receive treatment. But if they can't pay for it then who does? You're already paying for it aren't you? It's just that they have to declare bankruptcy and you have to pay higher health costs and other hidden fees.

We have socialist fire, police, military and other services, admit it. We are socialist in that regard. But where it counts, with our unalienable rights that our government says we have, we don't get that service. Don't we deserve it?