Human Rights:
universal rights held to belong to individuals by virtue of their being human,
encompassing civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights and freedoms,
and based on the notion of personal human dignity and worth.
(http://www.reference.com/search?q=human%20rights )
When determining what I felt to be the most important issue in world politics, I first took a look at the topic of world politics as a whole. How all of the issues weave in and out of one another, where they connect, what their roots are, what part each of them plays in the “bigger picture”. The conclusion I came to was simple: all issues in world politics can be traced back to human rights.
Turn on the television or log onto the internet and you can instantly view the latest information on current “hot-button” political issues such as the war in Iraq, global warming, terrorism, human trafficking, global poverty, and the genocide in Sudan, among others. Resolving these conflicts would require us to delve deeper into the question of human rights; basic respect for the dignity of our fellow man. Any conflict in world politics today can find its roots in human rights in some way shape or form. It all comes down to what we, as human beings deserve (or think we deserve), and whether or not we are willing to set aside our own personal pride as individuals and as nations in order to make these rights available to all of our fellow human beings.
Some of the previously listed examples obviously lend themselves to the issue of human rights, others are slightly more complex. Global warming, for example, can be looped around to simply having enough respect for our future generations to leave a clean world for them to live in. Terrorism stems from an inability to accept the ideas, culture, and religions of other men (regardless of which side initiates this narrow-minded behavior). The war in Iraq becomes one big question of whether or not we are obligated to help the Iraqi people, if the even want our help, and if either of these questions has even the slightest bearing on why we’re there in the first place.
In a perfect world every man would have respect for ever other man, every human would have all of the rights that they so deserve, and our world would be in peace because of it.
Unfortunately, as long as the denial of basic human rights is running ramped in our world these dreams cannot become reality.
(http://www.reference.com/search?q=human%20rights )
When determining what I felt to be the most important issue in world politics, I first took a look at the topic of world politics as a whole. How all of the issues weave in and out of one another, where they connect, what their roots are, what part each of them plays in the “bigger picture”. The conclusion I came to was simple: all issues in world politics can be traced back to human rights.
Turn on the television or log onto the internet and you can instantly view the latest information on current “hot-button” political issues such as the war in Iraq, global warming, terrorism, human trafficking, global poverty, and the genocide in Sudan, among others. Resolving these conflicts would require us to delve deeper into the question of human rights; basic respect for the dignity of our fellow man. Any conflict in world politics today can find its roots in human rights in some way shape or form. It all comes down to what we, as human beings deserve (or think we deserve), and whether or not we are willing to set aside our own personal pride as individuals and as nations in order to make these rights available to all of our fellow human beings.
Some of the previously listed examples obviously lend themselves to the issue of human rights, others are slightly more complex. Global warming, for example, can be looped around to simply having enough respect for our future generations to leave a clean world for them to live in. Terrorism stems from an inability to accept the ideas, culture, and religions of other men (regardless of which side initiates this narrow-minded behavior). The war in Iraq becomes one big question of whether or not we are obligated to help the Iraqi people, if the even want our help, and if either of these questions has even the slightest bearing on why we’re there in the first place.
In a perfect world every man would have respect for ever other man, every human would have all of the rights that they so deserve, and our world would be in peace because of it.
Unfortunately, as long as the denial of basic human rights is running ramped in our world these dreams cannot become reality.
3 comments:
I believe that the problem of human rights stems from a larger problem, which is that of consumerism, especially within the United States. You mentioned it briefly, that we cannot respect each other anymore in this world, but look at how money rules this world. It works on a large scale within countries and on a personal scale. We are in a constant battle over money; who can earn more, who can buy more expensive items, which country can buy out the oil from others, which country can produce the most... and the list goes on. I believe that it is impossible to have the concept of human rights when this mentality exists.
Ashley, I think you make a lot of good points here. The issue of human rights really boils down to respecting other people and treating them as you would want to be treated. As I was reading your entry I noticed you mentioned “our fellow man” and “every man,” which, although was just your choice of words, really drove home the fact that around the world today, women are often the targets of marginalization, violence, and persecution. I think that an integral part of the campaign for human rights should be focused on advancing women’s rights, as they have been pervasively and wrongly thought of as “weaker” than men, and have hence been subjected to oppression throughout history. Therefore, it is imperative that women’s rights be a central focus in the campaign for human rights.
I also like what Rebecca said about the rampant consumerism and materialism that our society has become preoccupied with. When people declare their creed to be that of achieving profit and acquiring material possessions, what results is a shallow and morally corrupt philosophy for living. Human rights, honesty, fairness, justice, friendship, love, and all else that is good goes out the window. Life should not be about iPods, clothes, and big-screen TVs. Life should be about doing what is right, being a positive force in the world, and working for the progress of all humankind. As the quote by Woodrow Wilson on our blog states, “There is no higher religion than human service. To work for the common good is the greatest creed.”
Hey Greg, I just want to clarify that when I use the terms "our fellow man" and "every man" I am in fact referring to everyone. As a woman, I don't see either of these to be sexist in any way shape or form but rather just a way of referring to all people. In fact, I personally feel that when people go through the trouble to place a "(s) he” or a "him or her" in their writing it draws more attention to sexism. That is of course not to say that I don't believe women's rights is an important issue, I just don't believe that it is the more important than issues with any other demographic. Whether we divide people by race, culture, sex, religion or sexual preference we are still defining an entire group by one small characteristic and I believe that is what we need to work on.
To move back over to what Rebecca was saying, it is absolutely true that consumerism is a huge problem. However, I do think that consumerism can coexist with human rights. It is possible for people to have their own since of personal identity and belongings without going completely overboard. We have repeatedly heard that while communism seems to be a good idea on paper in reality it really does not pan out. That being the case there will always be rich and poor, the problem is that people allow their greed to consume them and hoard their wealth rather than using it to help others. I’m not saying that everyone needs to be Mother Theresa or anything but honestly, who needs 3 cars and a house so big they can’t possibly get use out of each room?
Thanks for the feedback guys!
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