The value of civil rights

The title to Jarrod Lowery’s recent column, “Missing the Point,” does a very good job of describing his article. Lowery not only misses basic points of U.S. history but also the basic point of today’s health care debate, the right to live.

Lowery claims that today’s society no longer values the individual rights that the founders put forth in the Constitution. Lowery proudly points to the Federalist Papers to support his argument. It is true that the Federalist Papers had a profound impact and contained an informative discourse on rights. However, in the future, I encourage Lowery to open a history book before he writes.

Were individual rights valued for enslaved African Americans? Or even freed African Americans? Were individual rights valued for white women? Were they valued for white men who did not own property?

No, these groups were not afforded many of the basic rights that Lowery nebulously alludes to in his column. Thankfully, over time, as the country has devoted itself to ensuring individual rights, slavery was made unconstitutional, citizenship expanded, the franchise expanded, the ability for individuals to vote for senators was secured, and civil rights were reinforced.

Though Lowery bases the premise of his column on individual rights, he seems to miss the most basic right that is famously included in the Declaration of Independence and is at the heart of the health care debate: the right to live.

According to Lowery’s logic, an insurance company’s ability to deny coverage is more important than an individual’s right to life, the first right listed in the Declaration. This seems very callous and appears to be based in a values system that prioritizes profit over people. I hope I have misread Lowery’s column, because his logic is horrifying.

Jeremy Hackerd
IU senior