At a recent Democratic Presidential Debate, Rep. Dennis Kucinich elicited cheers and applause for the spirited declaration:
What exactly does it mean? Well, any declaration based on the concept of legality would necessarily lend itself to a legal interpretation. I will take a stab at it.
Strictly speaking, if there are no illegal humans, at least in America and the rest of the civilized world, that could be interpreted to mean that every human has an unalienable right to his or her humanity. Moreover, American humans have the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. So let's relax our definition of a legal human in America to that of a human who has a right to remain alive. Sadly, although they are only a tiny minority of the population, those humans living in America who have been convicted of a capital crime in an American court of law must forfeit their human rights. Nevertheless, with that minor exception in mind, Rep. Kucinich is correct.
But is his declaration substantive? Not really. Every middle schooler in America (I hope) is aware of that famous excerpt from the Declaration of Independence. Kucinich's paraphrasing makes for good political sound bite, but it is misleading in the context that he spoke it, because a legal human is not necessarily a legal resident. Nor is he necessarily a legal citizen, legal dentist, legal bus driver, legal helicopter pilot, or legal insurance agent. Legal humans, sadly, can be any of the thousands of flavors of criminal, barring only those convicted of a capital offense. The latter, of course, are no longer legal humans, legally speaking.
"There aren't any illegal human beings."It is a praiseworthy notion, indeed, though not quite accurate and without much substance.
What exactly does it mean? Well, any declaration based on the concept of legality would necessarily lend itself to a legal interpretation. I will take a stab at it.
Strictly speaking, if there are no illegal humans, at least in America and the rest of the civilized world, that could be interpreted to mean that every human has an unalienable right to his or her humanity. Moreover, American humans have the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. So let's relax our definition of a legal human in America to that of a human who has a right to remain alive. Sadly, although they are only a tiny minority of the population, those humans living in America who have been convicted of a capital crime in an American court of law must forfeit their human rights. Nevertheless, with that minor exception in mind, Rep. Kucinich is correct.
But is his declaration substantive? Not really. Every middle schooler in America (I hope) is aware of that famous excerpt from the Declaration of Independence. Kucinich's paraphrasing makes for good political sound bite, but it is misleading in the context that he spoke it, because a legal human is not necessarily a legal resident. Nor is he necessarily a legal citizen, legal dentist, legal bus driver, legal helicopter pilot, or legal insurance agent. Legal humans, sadly, can be any of the thousands of flavors of criminal, barring only those convicted of a capital offense. The latter, of course, are no longer legal humans, legally speaking.
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