"And government's only role is to secure our rights for us"
About this Quote
The intent is limiting-state rhetoric with a populist edge. Moore isn't arguing about policy so much as delegitimizing whole categories of policy in advance. If the government's role is reduced to rights-protection, then regulation becomes overreach, social programs become theft, and public health or education initiatives become suspect unless they can be rebranded as rights enforcement. It's an elegant ideological shortcut: define government narrowly, then declare everything outside that definition illegitimate.
The subtext matters because Moore, as a judge and a prominent culture-war figure, is not a neutral narrator of "rights". His public career has revolved around a particular hierarchy of rights, often elevating religious expression and traditional moral authority over other claims. So "our rights" quietly implies a chosen "we", and "secure" can slide from protecting individuals against the state to using the state to defend a preferred social order. The quote sells minimalism, but it also smuggles in a maximal assertion about whose freedoms count.
Quote Details
| Topic | Freedom |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Moore, Roy. (2026, January 16). And government's only role is to secure our rights for us. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-governments-only-role-is-to-secure-our-rights-85938/
Chicago Style
Moore, Roy. "And government's only role is to secure our rights for us." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-governments-only-role-is-to-secure-our-rights-85938/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"And government's only role is to secure our rights for us." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-governments-only-role-is-to-secure-our-rights-85938/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.






