Do We Have Too Many Rights?

I believe that while we do have considerably more rights than many other developed countries, we could still better ourselves by adding a few more rights, especially in the social and religious realms, because we need to be open to all forms of expression as long as we don't harm or encroach on the freedoms of others. Free speech is a right that we are allowed to exercise to an extent much greater than other states. Take this for example: Gregory Lee Johnson burned the flag of the United States in protest. Should this have been protected? I think it should as long as the burning is done safely. If the government illegalizes specific acts of protest, the action could very well intimidate its citizens, scaring them away from opposing the government. This could be a slippery slope, ending the government taking complete control, simply because the general population was too scared to do anything. That would be contrary to our constitutional ideologies which state that it is the right of the people to control what their government does. This freedom of speech is very important and perhaps there could be more done to ensure this right is protected, but I am content with the extent to which this right protects us. Another right that is important to U.S. citizens is our right against self-incrimination. Before one's Miranda rights were needed to be explicitly stated, the police could interrogate people whom did not know they had the right to be silent. In the case of Miranda v. Arizona, it was established that the criminal should be informed of his rights. This, I believe, is very important. It prevents people from being falsely pressured into admitting to crimes which they did not convict. It is mostly to ensure that innocent people are not locked up, but it has also allowed guilty people to walk on technicalities. Regrettable as that is, it is necessary. It results in a justice system that encourages more concrete evidence to be needed for convictions, which, presumably results in more accuracy and a reduction in wrongful imprisonments, which I believe to be a positive thing. There are other freedoms such as abortion and gay marriage which are very controversial, but I believe they should protected as rights because they do not harm others. By illegalizing these practices on, for example, religious grounds, we open the door to remove any right that anyone opposes, simply because said individual would not condone the action personally, which could result in fewer and fewer rights as we try to insulate the easily offended from actions that neither harm nor even personally involve them. As a whole, all our rights are definitely needed, as I believe a reduction in rights would be detrimental. Furthermore, more rights need to be explicitly given to us. While I touched on the continued legalization of abortion and the universal legalization of gay marriage, there are plenty of other things such as legalization of marijuana complete with taxation similar to tobacco, and clear national legalization of stem-cell research, that should be legalized. These issues are primarily social, and it is not the government's place to govern us morally. While I understand these views are highly controversial and are seen as extreme to many, I believe that the people should be able to govern themselves morally as long as they don't harm others. At the least, we should protect the rights we do have. In a worst case scenario involving the removal of freedoms, it could be a slippery slope into the reduction of all our rights, and that would be far less preferable to having to accept other people exercising rights we may not agree with completely.