Intrinsic Right of Self-Defense

"There is no right more intrinsic than the right of self-defense; not free speech, not freedom of religion -- nothing. If you are set upon by attackers who do not hesitate to use every available means to injure or kill you, is there any earthly authority you can imagine that could justly deny you the right to defend your life?

"Of course not. There's no instinct more basic than this.

"The right to live is by definition the foundation of every other right. A right so implicit confers responsibility, in any rational construct. Once past the helplessness of infancy and its dependence on mother and faother for sustenance and protection, the individual's responsibility to defend and maintain one's intrinsic rights grows in proportion to one's level of maturity until, at adulthood, each of us becomes wholly responsible for himself."

Jeff Smith