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Rick @ Notes From England

The Declaration of Human Rights

Do we care about Human Beings suffering?



Today marks the anniversary of the International Declaration of Human Rights. Seventy-two years ago today, the United Nations adopted the Declaration of Human Rights. As if Civilisation leapt forward in a day and then disappointingly over the next seven decades, ground to a halt and started slipping backwards. Two and a half years after the end of world war two and all the atrocities that were committed during that dark time in human history still fresh in peoples minds, motivated leaders to try and prevent it from happening ever again. It is tempting, cocooned in our western world with our lattes, cell phones and fashioned clothes to think we are civilised. We wash, eat off clean plates and drink beer and wine out of a glass and sleep in clean sheets on comfortable beds. Generally, most take this for granted and might consider this as civilised. But in reality, these are just frills around the edge of Civilisation. Civilisation is about how we treat other sentient beings, including each other and our planet, where we all live.  What those commissioners were doing when they introduced the Declaration of Human Rights was drawing a line below which no Human Being should be treated.  This is what Great Leadership is all about. It is inspiring others to strive and reach beyond what is customary - to stretch the dream of possibilities. To create the vision of what is possible, why it is better and empower us all to live that dream. None of us are perfect. Many great and lauded leaders of their time are now seen as flawed. Winston Churchill is one such leader who's statue in Parliament square has been defiled; today, incidentally, is also the Eightieth anniversary of his great speech to the House of Commons "This was their finest hour" encouraging perseverance during the battle of Britain.  Churchill may have been flawed, but he certainly helped inch civilisation forward, even in an imperfect way. It is so easy to judge with hindsight. How we view the world today is so different from the world view a hundred or two hundred years ago. They, the past, is history. We can pull down statues all we like, but we can't eradicate or expunge our own history. There have been times when we have stood against tyranny and times when we have been the tyrants. But we are all trying to move forward. Many times in different parts of the world, we have slipt way below that line of Human Rights declared seventy-two years ago today. And even today - leaders of countries are ignoring those Human Rights and Humans are suffering dreadfully because of it.  And what are we doing about it? There is I believe a direct relationship between Economics, Executive Power and Human-Rights. Much as in most democracy's, we have a triangle of accountability between, The Executive, The parliament (or Congress) and The Law. So our world civilisation is dependant on all of us understanding that Human Rights have a cost and the Powers that be have to be held accountable under the law. It would seem that the only way for any of us to move Human Rights forward is to A) Send the message that we are holding the Executive to a higher standard B) Fight and Vote for Good and scrutinised Leadership and C) Penalise any executive for "below the line" Human Rights. That could mean we would all have to give up a latte or some luxury every other day. Rick - Suffolk - UK - 18th June - 2020 rick@notesfromengland

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