A founding document of the United States makes this declaration,
We hold these truths to be self-evident, 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,...
The claim may seem amazing today, but the Founders actually acknowledged the source of inherent rights as something above human power structures. These rights belong to individuals independently of government largesse or revocations. Rights that can be given by the government, can just as easily be taken away. This is a recipe for totalitarianism, instead of justly exercising the power granted to them by the consent of the people.
The proper role of government is to protect our rights, not to create or massage them. In fact, the founding fathers explicitly listed many of these rights in the Constitution's Bill of Rights, as a reminder to the government that there are explicit limits to their power. These unalienable rights cannot justly be usurped by the powerful, since they are granted by God. It is good to be reminded that we are not God.
