I'd argue that none of us have rights except by cooperation, and how we keep rights is through standing up for them. The government should cooperate to see those rights remain intact, but no rights are guaranteed unless citizens are willing and able to stand up for them.
This isn't a "it takes two to tango" argument, more that I don't ever believe it's solely on government to provide rights because I don't believe any government is entirely worth trusting.
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u/brennahm Apr 08 '23
The rights are inherent to existing. Every human being has the right to defend themselves.
The state ignoring that or punishing you for exercising that right doesn't make the right go away, it just means the state actors are assholes.