The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government. – Thomas Jefferson
On this date in 1948, the UN Human Rights Declaration was agreed in Paris.
Such a simple idea, it is designed to protect us from the negativity, violence and problems and outlines our basic entitlements.
Some of the articles include:
Article 1: All human beings are born free and equal
Article 3: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security
Article 4: No-one shall be held in slavery or servitude
Article 5: No-one shall be subjected to torture
Article 9: No-one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest
Article 18: Everyone has the right to freedom of thought
It is something to strive for, something that eventually all will be able to follow and that at some stage the idea of abuse and cruelty will be a thing of the past.
In practice it may be different. While the majority of us are able to fight for and receive the rights we are entitled to, there are those who do not and are there simply to suffer.
There is no good that can come from that kind of situation, there is no positive spin you can put on places and incidents that have been documented at Guantanamo Bay. There is no good that can come from the slave trade that still exists, albeit in quieter circumstances.
To stop terrorism is a necessity, to stop torture is a necessity, to allow freedom is paramount. Unfortunately
rules are there to be broken and while this should be something that sets the standard for the way people live and act, it is something that many leaders and countries have flouted for decades.
The world has problems, of that there can be no doubt, however if this declaration is to be upheld it has to be remembered about keeping it human and making sure that every one has even a basic level of rights/
It will be a long road to get to that, but it would be a good start.
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008 and is filed under Thoughts & Questions, Views on News.
Responses are currently closed
matthew Says:
Good grief Mike. You mention every human rights issue EXCEPT the biggest one of all. How many human rights issues of our day claim 46 million lives annually?
How many issues have the legal approval of nearly all western countries at this stage?
And what is the priority in human rights issues?
Obviously you would agree that the taking of human life is the greatest deprivation of one’s rights. Yet why is the first thing that comes to mind Guantanamo bay?
December 22nd, 2008 at 10:05 pm