Our nation’s founding document—the Declaration of Independence — states that the purpose of government is to protect our unalienable rights including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It was grounded in an idea known as natural rights, the idea that human beings all possess certain rights that no government can take away.
A recent ScottRasmussen.com survey found that 50 percent of voters today believe the rights we enjoy as Americans were given to us by the government and the Constitution. Another 50 percent believe that we were endowed by a Creator with certain rights that no government can take away.
Virtually all measured partisan and demographic groups are fairly evenly divided on this question.
Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology. Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
Scott Rasmussen is founder and president of the Rasmussen Media Group. He is the author of "Mad as Hell: How the Tea Party Movement Is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System," "In Search of Self-Governance," and "The People’s Money: How Voters Will Balance the Budget and Eliminate the Federal Debt." Read more reports from Scott Rasmussen — Click Here Now.
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