There are many progressives in the media, in academia, in politics and elsewhere that have this belief that for the good of society and for the good of the nation, one must surrender his or her liberties and rights for “the common good.” That one must surrender one’s right to own and have property for “the common good;” that one must surrender his or her privacy for “the common good;” that one must surrender his or her conscience, speech and thoughts for “the common good;” and that one must surrender his or her own individuality, being and body for the so called “common good.”
What these progressives, both on the left and on the right, really mean by “the common good” really entails “for the good of the state” and nothing more. They believe that the individual, his or her hopes, dreams, rights and aspirations must coincide with the state and that he is nothing more than a subject to be molded like clay.
The rights of the individual and the rights that are guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law are not subject to negotiations or elimination. To say otherwise would be like saying that the individual is not important, nor autonomous. For more than 100 years, the progressive movement has tried to replace the individual with the collective. It is time that this belief be rejected outright and come to the realization that the individual and his or her rights are sacrosanct and not privilege as the progressives would have us believe to be taken away at their whims for their so-called “common good.”