“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”. – Declaration of Independence
The mission of Certain Right is to promote the principles of self determination and individual rights.
These rights are unalienable – they do not come from government, but rather are “endowed by (the) Creator”; they are natural and inherent to the individual and cannot be signed away. Republicanism (small r) holds that government “derive(s its) just powers from the consent of the governed” and that the ultimate origin of sovreignty rests not with the state, but with the individual citizen.
Government’s purpose is to secure and protect the rights of the individual. However, when society does not hold government accountable to its mission as a result of indifference or demagoguery, a “tyranny of the majority” may infringe on the rights of the minority. These rights are unalienable and cannot be signed away, but in practice the implementation of government policies unmoored from the principles of republicanism and individual liberty does invade upon these inviolable rights. Each generation must ensure that the framework of governance and cultural appreciation for individual liberty remains strong, or those liberties will gradually wither away and be lost to future generations.
Traditionally embraced by the philosophies of American conservatism, libertarianism and classical liberalism, in our time these principles have been marginalized by the encroachment of progressivism and socialism. Morality and religious freedom are under attack from within and without as secular amoral relativism and intolerant religious extremism (Islamism) target the values of Western civilization. Free market capitalism, the engine which drives economic achievement, innovation, and prosperity, is likewise demonized.
In these times, political correctness hampers the defense of individual rights. Although the First Amendment protects (for now) the freedom of the press, the majority of information disseminated to the citizenry is biased in favor of the opposing forces mentioned above. This is in addition to an increasing number of citizens being poorly informed by choice, so that a large number of the population is uninformed, and most of the rest are misinformed. To make matters even worse, even many of the “independent”, “conservative”, or “new media” outlets have betrayed their core values and are leading their audiences astray as well. So although a diversity of opinion exists in today’s media, a consensus still drives today’s culture further away from the principles of liberty, while the true proponents of these principles are few and marginalized.
The battle of ideas is waged in the mind of each individual. So long as the population remains uninformed or misinformed, and does not think clearly for themselves due to either ignorance or blind allegiance to demagogues, party affiliations, or identity groups, government will not be held accountable. The result of poor governance will be the steady erosion of individual liberties.
Certain Right’s mission is to provide an independent source of information and ideas in order to amplify the voices articulating arguments for the principles all free people should hold dear: individual rights (freedom of speech, freedom of religion, right to self-defense, rights against unreasonable search and seizure, right to due process and trial by jury), property rights, economic freedom manifested in free market capitalism, republicanism (small r), and the rule of law.
We believe that in a robust debate the strongest ideas and principles will emerge. And although there is room for disagreement on policies or implementation, on some principles there is no room for negotiation – of our rights, we are certain.