LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Does Natural Law exclude some people from life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?

Posted

TO THE EDITOR:

I read with interest the editorial, “The Ten Commandments and the Natural Law,” in the R.I. Catholic, March 4, 2021. The writer suggests that Thomas Jefferson had the Natural Law in mind when he wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Jefferson, et al, meant what they wrote literally. That white men were equal. Blacks were not equal, Native Americans were not equal, and women were not equal. If the Natural Law is the law written in nature by God, did God mean to exclude some folks from life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? I think not. Those who believe that the Natural Law is the Rosetta Stone that provides the answer to all of life’s moral dilemmas perhaps need to re-evaluate their position.

Joseph Creedon, Narragansett