-This is an old one copied over from facebook, but I'm reposting it and re-linking it all over the place because I think it's important.-
It was brought to my attention recently that the
definition for 'Human Rights' is getting a bit cloudy. Maybe because people are
more inclined these days to ask, and expect, to be treated equally regardless
of their race, religion, sexuality, whatever.
Someone, in a postion of not insignificant
authority, was suggesting that the subject of gay marriage had nothing to do
with human rights. Someone needs to buy a dictionary I think. The argument
actually ran more along the lines of human rights ONLY being about basic
necessity. Food. Shelter. I guess someone better go tell Nelson Mandela. And
Martin Luther King Jr. And the many, many thousands of others who have stood up
for all kinds of rights that apparently don't count as human rights. WTF dude?
I can manage to agree that at the core of human
rights are a bunch of things that everyone should expect to have access to with
absolute disregard for any outside influence. That food and shelter stuff,
that's not something we should even be arguing about. I don't think however
that the fact that I don't need to be able to marry my girlfriend to live,
stops it from being a human right issue that I be allowed to, should I so
choose. Don't get your hopes up kids, I'm as straight as a poorly manufactured
arrow.
I'm getting a bit fed up with all the debate over
human rights. Why? Because it sickens me that people need to be told to treat
each other with a modicum of respect. It flat out flabberghasts me that people
don't grasp the fairly basic concept that turn about is fair play. Why the hell
should I respect your lifestyles and credos if you aren't prepared to respect
mine? That's not tricky right? I don't have to believe in your god to respect
your right to, do I? No. Obviously not. So stop being a gigantic DERP about it
and let me get on with my life. Not that anyone actually directly gets on their
high horse at me - because I'm seldom stupid enough to tell anyone I think
MIGHT. I have a couple of Christian friends who occasionally try to 'save my
soul', I offend one quite regularly with my inability to grasp that there is
anything wrong with it in the first place.
Certainly according to my own system of belief,
I'm doing alright.
I think this over-prevalent attitude of 'my
beliefs are right, therefore yours are unacceptable' is crazy. No, this is not
a colloquialism. I mean crazy. Actual. Batshit. MENTAL. We have minds, we
think, we have opinions. If we all agreed all the time, there would be little
point in our having the capacity for debate. Why would it even have developed,
if it wasn't useful for something? We're not MEANT to agree all the time,
because we would get NOWHERE if we did. Without disagreement, that stick we
first picked up to pick an ant out of a log would never have developed into a
27 tool pocketknife. That sits in a draw doing nothing.
Debate is an important part of development, and
forcing a lack of debate will only hold us back. Sure there's a whole lot of
development we could arguably have done without. But I'm quite fond of my
laptop. As evidenced by my lying in bed with it propped up on a few books in my
lap while I write this. And the zillion other rants I've written.
It's time, and well past time, humanity accepted
its need for debate and accepted that being different is not the same as being
wrong. We tell our children off for picking on each other for the little
differences in their lives, and yet blithely ignore the gapping hypocrisy going
on all around us. We expect our children to learn to be decent and fair human
beings, while all around them they see inequity and outright hostility over
differences much larger than the things they play at being little bastards
over. What exactly are we teaching them?
I've very, very proud of my daughter**. She has
an astonishing grasp of fairness, and a matching unwillingness to tolerate
inequity around her. She stands up for her friends when they are bullied and,
much harder, she stands up TO them when they're being dicks. I haven't had to
steer her a lot, she was born this way. It's a pleasure watching her growing
into an immensely lovable adult. Sometimes it amazes me how decent she is,
given that she's had to grow up in a broken home (thankfully not very messily
broken) with a sick mother who has very little extra energy most of the time. I
suppose with a lack of physical energy I have put a lot more of my time into
mental pursuit - we talk a lot. She's a smart kid, it's amazing to watch mental
development in progress. Amazing to watch her thinking through complicated
moral situations and come to her own conclusions. We don't always agree, but
then I don't expect to.
Peace. Out.
*nope, that isn't a spelling mistake in the title
;)
** I don't mean to sound arrogant here, she is
completely awesome. But I actually think she is 90% awesome just because of who
she is. I didn't do it, her dad didn't do it, she just IS a very cool human
being who's been allowed to develop her own coolness. That's the bit I got
right.
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