Wow. I can't believe they called it a privilege! What does that mean in their minds? I though the Bill of Rights, and therefore the 5th Amendment, were rights n

Wow. I can't believe they called it a privilege! What does that mean in their minds? I though the Bill of Rights, and therefore the 5th Amendment, were rights not a privilege. When and how did they transform a right into a privilege? It appears that it has taken less than 250 years to revert back into subjects.