We commonly hear politicans ranting about protecting our "civil" rights in the united states of America, but what exactly are they talking about? The Declaration of Independence states,

WE hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

The rights it speaks to are unalienable rights. Not civil rights. It then goes on to state,

That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed

So the pupose of government is to defend these unalienable rights. Our rights were granted us by God. So what do politicans mean by "civil rights"?

Civils rights are rights granted to a government,s citizens. They are rights that those citizens would not have if not for the government granting them as privileges. They are rights that can be granted and taken away. The Unites States has been calling them civil rights for so long, that many places on the Internet cite them as civil rights as though they are the only rights available to Americans. Some of these places go on to cite "freedom of speech, freedom to assemble" etc.

Natural rights, or those unalienable rights granted by God cannot be taken away by government. It requires a sworn oath for government to have jurisdiction over one of the people mentioned in the preamble to the US Constitution.