It is a remarkable fact, though little noticed, that we no longer conduct our politics in the language of the Founders.  What that means is we no longer think politically in their terms.  Although the American Founding was all about unalienable rights, the phrase "unalienable rights" has gone missing from American politics.  In day-to-day politics, rights are bandied about – civil rights, women's rights, gay rights, but almost never unalienable rights.  "Unalienable rights" has the familiarity and the unfamiliarity of a special item brought out only for special occasions like the 4th of July.  This would astonish the Founders.  After all, the claim of the Declaration was that we are "created equal" and endowed by our Creator "with certain unalienable rights."  That is the claim at the core of the American Idea.  That is the American principle of liberty. And it is a single claim, not a...(Read Full Article)