Rightness

RIGHTNESS, RIGHTS and RENAISSANCE

an Essay on Responsibilities and Rights

By Andrik Schapers

An essay on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations

and on the responsibilities of every world citizen to uphold these rights

so that they can become a reality and not just an ideal.

A Promise to the World

Wouldn’t you like a world of freedom

Wouldn’t you like a world of peace

It's not so hard if we all together

follow the dream,

follow the dream.

More than 50 years ago, born of pain and misery

The world’s leaders spoke together, and their words made history

Looking back at too much suffering, disregard for human rights,

Arrogance and barbarism, and misuse of force and might

They relit the torch of freedom, gave man back his dignity,

reconfirming all those values of true world democracy

It’s a promise to the world, to the people of all nations

For the rights and hope of man, and our highest aspirations

It’s a promise to the world, for the right to dignity

A universal declaration of the human family

and our right to be free.

Dedicated to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, this human rights song was written to spread the message of the Declaration through the world of the arts. Many have been brought to a new awareness of human rights, and been moved to greater action, through music. Men and women of the arts, sciences, philosophy, and religion are helping to teach and spread this vital message.

The Declaration is a Promise to the World, and it will only remain so and be fulfilled if we expand the grass roots movement that is already underway, and make it truly universal. More artists of the world and every citizen of the world must help to bring it alive in the hearts of the peoples of earth.

The Declaration was born in an epoch of great disasters and of great cultural and social upheavals for mankind, when many people thought that communism, socialism, or even facism would bring a solution to the sufferings of this planet. Now, more than half a century later, communism has fallen, or is turning more and more to free enterprise to survive, and socialist ideas, free enterprise, and capitalism are to be found in a great many interesting combinations around the world. A more permanent resolution to humanity's ills still lies with human rights becoming and remaining a living reality in the heart of each human being. When practiced with good will, honesty and morality they will change each country or culture step by step so as to create this better world we all desire. This is a world where all men, women and children can flourish and prosper, the weak being helped by the strong and each taking responsibility for their own life, family and groups, to the best of their ability and in compliance with the constitution and laws of their country.

Human rights and tolerance are the evidence of man at his best, and wherever we have had golden ages of culture and freedom it these were respected -- starting with the Greece of Pericles, and in the Anglo Saxon cultures, and in the America of the Founding Fathers.

This essay is dedicated to the following great humanitarians and groups: Pericles, the Father of Democracy, Thomas Jefferson, the Father of the Declaration of Independence, Eleanor Roosevelt, Chair of the United Nations Commission that wrote the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and to all those courageous human beings who have dedicated their lives to the achievement of the ideals expressed in the Universal Declaration.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND RIGHTS

Each article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states a basic right possessed by each individual. Every one of these basic rights carries with it a responsibility. The exercise of responsibility in relation to each right will assist in the realization of that right for each person, and in the continuation of that right into the future. The establishment and the guaranteed persistence of these rights are vital elements in mankind's successful future. It is the recognition of both the responsibility and the right that will make possible this future. Positive action follows recognition, and will bring the reality of these articles of the Declaration to all corners of the earth.

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: Every person is born free and equal in dignity and rights.

RESPONSIBILITY: Many know the song "Born Free," or the song from the movie South Pacific, in which the lyrics state, "You have to be carefully taught to hate." One of the most important things that modern philosophy discovered about man is that he is basically good, but influenced sometimes by shadows of the past.

It is therefore vital that we teach our children about the Declaration and the universal truth of this document, so that they are armed morally and spiritually. It must become second nature to them to actively decry any abuse of the innate dignity and freedom of themselves and of any other member of the human race.

It is here where the artists of the world can help tremendously by visiting schools and by creating songs, booklets and any other art form that invites the children to learn in a fun way about human rights, and to participate in artistic creations about them.

Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: Every person has human rights regardless of race, sex, language, belief or religion.

RESPONSIBILITY: We should respect and uphold these same rights for members of the opposite sex, for members of other races, and for people who have a religion or belief that is different from our own or speak a different language. We should work for the improvement of relations between different religions, sexes, cultures or races, realizing that it is diversity, not sameness, that makes this world a fascinating place to be.

Throughout the history of this planet it was always when religion was used for political ends that wars erupted or persecution and discrimination flared up. Even recently, we witnessed an atrocious attack on the American and Western culture in New York, perpetrated in the name of but in violation of the basic tenets of tolerance of the actual Islamic religion. Furthermore, France has passed a law which makes it virtually impossible for more than 170 religions, philosophies and ideologies to exist. France has set herewith an example for Russia, where more than 2,000 religions are endangered by a new anti-religious law, and China, where recently Christian missionaries were killed for their beliefs and where millions of Falun Gong adherents are being persecuted and in hundreds of cases, killed.

This is happening more than fifty years after the Declaration was signed in Paris, France!

An all-out creative assault by the artists of the world is needed, to put pressure on the political, social and economic interests that violate this basic human right. When the spiritual expressions and beliefs of mankind are threatened, the whole culture of that race is in danger. Man's spirituality and the personal expressions thereof are the foundation of a culture and should only be defended by state and government, never attacked.

Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: Every person has the right to life, liberty and security.

RESPONSIBILITY: In all cultures and religions of the past, murder was justly considered the most important crime against the human rights of man, even if it was not described this way. But there is another type of murder today, which is the destruction of the sanity of another human being. Without respect for the mind of another, how can one live in freedom? How can one survive? And how can one's personal security be guaranteed without the right to defend oneself with either a weapon, legally obtained, or through the arts of self defense?

To be able to maintain an environment where we are free from threats against personal security, physical or mental, we must support government and other programs that prevent murder from becoming widespread. At the same time we must insist on the right to our own self-defense.

We should actively decry and expose any violations of the right to enjoy life in freedom and happiness, and work for a social and political climate that promotes and protects these rights in a secure environment, locally, nationally and in the world.

Article 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: On the fact that slavery and the slave trade are prohibited.

RESPONSIBILITY: We should actively work for a civilization that prohibits and abolishes not only slavery of the physical kind, but also of the economic kind and the spiritual kind that is done through physically damaging practices, abuses and brutality, or enforced pharmaceutical treatments in the field of mental health, especially in relation to children.

Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: No person shall be subjected to torture.

RESPONSIBILITY: We must actively decry and do all we can to help abolish any form

of torture or cruel and degrading treatments or punishments. This applies at home, in our schools, in our mental institutions, in our police and military forces and our political and government systems, nationally as well as worldwide. We must remain fully aware that throughout the history of man, blatant disregard and contempt for the human right of personal respect and security have resulted in barbarous acts and repressive political systems over and over again. Such disregard and contempt show mankind in its worst way, devoid of any spiritual value, and in treason to his own human dignity and conscience.

Article 6 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: Every person has the right to recognition as a person before the law.

RESPONSIBILITY: We should make sure that our legal systems nationally and in the world stand above politcal discrimination, so that each human being is recognized as a person before the law independent of race, religion, or sex, and that all will have equal protection before and by the law without being unfairly treated.

We should also, if necessary, support activities or organizations that protest against injustice and discrimination, through public or legal protest actions. Not all of us can be lawyers, but each of us can help support those experts or groups that work for equal justice for all.

Article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: All persons are entitled to equal protection before the law.

RESPONSIBILITY: Realizing that freedom can only exist.in any political system when human rights are part of its legal structure, and that our governments and countries can only survive and prosper in peace if they fully adhere to this self-evident truth, we must work for fast, effective and inexpensive justice for everyone. In this way, not only the wealthy can afford justice, but every person can truly have equal protection before the law, at home and in the world.

Article 8 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: Every person is entitled to the aid of law when not treated fairly.

RESPONSIBILITY: False accusations and a failure of justice systems, particularly in the last century, to confront the accused person with his accusers before punishing actions of any kind are applied, have caused entire social systems to collapse. This was seen in Czarist Russsia and in Nazi Germany, it being the most despicable aspect of fascist as well as communist "justice." Democratic values and rights in the world must be defended by exposing and strenuously protesting legal actions based on false reports, at home or in the world. Action can be taken through personal efforts or by helping rights groups, so that innocent people or groups cannot be subjected to press attacks, pressure groups or court actions of this kind. The law must be applied fairly to each and all, helping in this way to give to our civilizations and world democracy a cause great enough to survive.

Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: No person shall be subjected to arbitrary detention.

RESPONSIBILITY: Realizing that the only guarantee for the virtues of patriotism, loyalty and devotion to governments is the certainty of the people that these governments do not apply legal actions carelessly and arbitrarily, the human right of true legal security under the law must be promoted. We must decry and deny any political system or regime in the world that arbitrarily arrests, detains or exiles its own people or people of other nationalities.

Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: Every person is entitled to an impartial hearing.

RESPONSIBILITY: The only way to ensure fair public hearings in full equality for everyone by independent and impartial tribunals, is to work for reform of the legal systems. This must be done so that (1) nobody can be above the law; (2) all special privileges for officials are abolished; (3) all insanity commitment laws are repealed; and (4) the seizure of property through the testimony of psychiatrists or by the state by reason of legal procedure is prevented. We must work for these reforms and others that might be necessary to improve our legal systems, and support any initiatives by experts or social betterment groups to bring about these reforms, so as to bring about a golden era in jurisprudence.

Article 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: Every person shall be considered innocent until proven guilty.

RESPONSIBILITY: Realizing that as far back as the justice system of ancient cultures a person was considered innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt, this important right must be defended as the only acceptable way of justice for this enlightened day and age. We must strive to promote and expand this vital and basic human right to all countries of the world, especially to those countries that consider themselves cultural leaders. Such leaders should be an example of enlightened jurisprudence so as to inspire less developed countries to do the same.

Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: Every person has the right to protection of his or her privacy.

RESPONSIBILITY: Family, home, correspondence, personal privacy, computers, and whatever other form of personal spaces are cradles of creation that deserve the highest respect. While in the past, castles were build to defend such things, today we have our constitutions and our human rights to guarantee everyone the enjoyment of these things, and especially to guarantee that the law protects one's honor and reputation so one can peacefully create this part of life. Therefore this right must be protected and defended for all.

Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: Every person has the right to travel freely within a country and to leave and return to his or her country.

RESPONSIBILITY: Borders of nations have been created to protect the safety of their people and their economy, not to imprison their inhabitants. One of the basic rights and enjoyments for men and women is to leave and return to their country at will, and to visit other parts of the world or of their own country as they wish. However, in some parts of the planet even this right is not granted. We must work for a future earth where all people have this right.

Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: Every person has the right to asylum from persecution.

RESPONSIBILITY: Every person is part of mankind and every country is part of of the family of nations. It is therefore a human right for each man to ask for asylum when he is persecuted in his own land, and a duty of every country to assist him when his country or political system has violated his human rights. This right must be claimed for oneself if needed and the right of others to have the same must be insisted upon.

Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: Every person has the right to a nationality.

RESPONSIBILITY: To be able to live in this world nowadays one needs a basic identification which we call nationality. Without this one has no passport and cannot funcion as part of the human race. If a political system would mean evil it could strip one of this right and render one unable to function. Therefore we must be vigilant that this right for oneself and others is not violated and that neither does it become an enforced thing, but something that we can change if we like.

Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: All adults have the right to marry of their own free will and to found a family.

RESPONSIBILITY: The family is the basic building block of society. It must be respected and not interfered with by the state or by so-called psychological social engineers that try to substitute the role of the parents. No one can tell anyone else who to marry. We are all free to do so when we are of age, with the same rights for both sexes, and we are free to get a divorce when so desired. When political systems are based on force and not rights they invariably will try to destroy the power of the family and thus cause their own demise. The sanctity of the family must be defended for the good of all.

Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: Every person has the right to own property.

RESPONSIBILITY: Only during wars and only in corrupt political systems does one see the destruction of private property, either physically with arms or legally through social manipulation. No civilization is possible and no prosperity either if the right to own property is denied to its people. We must therefore fight any arbitraries that.try to limit or take away this right.

Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: Every person has the right to freedom of religion.

RESPONSIBILITY: Religious intolerance has been the cause of countless wars and incredible suffering throughout history. It has had many disguises: fanaticism, communism, fascism, totalitarianism, materialism, ethnic cleansing, and today, terrorism. When one destroys the true spirituality of man one destroys the fabric and essence of the culture, either with a bang or by gradual erosion of moral values. This is done by modern day schools of thought that teach that man is an animal and try to cure his problems with drugs instead of spiritual care. We must therefore fight every form of suppression of freedom of thought and religious freedom, and of the right to practice religion, be it a traditional or a new religion, be it at home or in the world.

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: Every person has the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

RESPONSIBILITY: When evil forces try to destroy the truth in a society, the first thing they will do is suppress freedom of expression, freedom of the media and freedom of thought. When a political system does not represent freedom it will try to stop information and ideas that are different from its own. The result is a climate of fear instead of understanding. Suppression of information and ideas leads to slavery, and we must do all we can to work for a world where there is no suppression of opinions and information.

Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: Every person has the right to freedom of personal assembly and association.

RESPONSIBILITY: When governments know they have lost the support of the people but still want power over them, they will forbid the right to assembly even if it is peaceful, or they force people to belong to their political groups, openly or covertly. In many parts of the world today this is the political way. We must do all we can to help the United Nations and other human rights groups to expose this so that true democratic values will win over usurpation and vested interests.

Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: Every person has the right to take part in the government of his or her country.

RESPONSIBILITY: In the year 1787 an historical document was signed by the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. It is now the oldest constitution on the planet and was a watershed for the political, social, and cultural life of all beings in the world, because it founded for the first time in modern history a government for the people and by the people. It was this document, together with its amendments and the Declaration of Independence, that heralded a new era of democracy and also of human rights on earth.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights reinterpreted and developed many of these ideals of freedom for the peoples of earth, so as to prevent once and for all a repetition of the barbarous acts born of European fascism, and to prevent the necessity of continued war against tyranny and oppression by future political systems of any kind. The right of everyone to choose a government that serves its people and follows the will of its people is the foundation of freedom, justice, peace and happiness for every human being on earth.

We therefore must not take this right for granted and must be vigilant, so that the elections of our countries are not mutilated by vested interests. We must help choose honest and decent leaders of good will that truly represent the country, not groups that usurp power for their own self-interest and hidden agendas.

Happiness, freedom and prosperity are only possible under honest governments free of any form of tyranny and oppression. Living under a repressive political system, it might seem impossible to do something about it, but one can always bring about reform by withdrawing one's support and by being a voice of advice and of change.

Article 22 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: Every person has economic, social and cultural rights.

RESPONSIBILITY: Our economic, social and cultural rights can only be defended by our vigilance in ensuring we have a government that works hard for its people, be it local, state or national. It is then our own responsibility to be productive, to be competent and to create in our own lives this just and democratic political structure.

The great lesson of the last century is that communism, too much socialism and too much interference of the state in the personal responsibilities of its citizens led to exactly the opposite of human rights and freedom. The result is all the power in the hands of a few tyrants and crumbled economies where social security, free development of personality, cultural and economic rights and dignity are destroyed.

Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: Every person has the right to work, to just pay, and to form and join unions.

RESPONSIBILITY: The best guarantee of the right to work and to be paid fairly for this, is to.support and create political climates where the governments support and stimulate private enterprise with the least interference possible. There must be such an abundance of work that the remuneration is favorable and based on personal capacity only, without discrimination by sex, color, race or religion.

In a world where half of the population still lives in poverty, the richer countries, the international banking industry and international corporations should try to stimulate within the structure of each country competence, abilities and skills. This can be done through international volunteer groups whose members are willing to dedicate some years of their lives to this worthy activity. Fair exchange and favorable working conditions should be enforced by the governments or unions.

However, the best guarantee of this human right are structures to stimulate competence, and free enterprise with the least taxation on companies and workers alike. Today there are countries in Europe where one works half of his time or more just to pay his taxes. This goes in the direction of a new form of slavery.

We must defend and work not only for the right to work and to be paid fairly, but also only support political structures where we can keep a fair amount of our pay.

Article 24 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: Every person has the right to rest and leisure.

RESPONSIBILITY: For many western countries the length of the weekly working hours has become smaller and smaller. This is a long way from the slave schedules of the robber barons of yesterday. There almost seems, however, to be a new philosophy that work is bad -- the more leisure the better. Interestingly enough though, many people get depressed or even die after retirement, as shown by statistics.

Yes, we must work for the right to have a fair amount of holiday and leisure, but.also for the right to work and produce and to be industrious as much as we like.

A lot of good production will bring a planet with high morale, where work is seen as a blessing and life is purposeful for all.

Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: Every person has the right to an adequate standard of living.

RESPONSIBILITY: Today a great part of the nations in the world live below a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of their people -- this, 53 years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was tendered to the world.

Some of these nations are in transition from the failure of communism towards a free enterprise system. Many of these nations are ruled by tyrants and corrupt political leaders. Some have fallen prey to outdated banking and/or business traditions that entice developing countries into the type of financial help that lines the pockets of a few corrupt men, but destroys the economic security and livelihood of the billions. Out of this are born disasters like the terrorist attack of September 11 in New York, in the heart of international trade and the philosophy of freedom of America and of the western world.

The wake-up call is clear. Only in the abject poverty of many Islam nations can a movement of murder and hate take root and attempt to pervert a religion that is tolerant of other cultures and religious traditions.

We all have the right to an adequate standard of living, but also the responsibility to demand that our governments assist, and to help our governments assist other people on earth to have the same right, so they can live in dignity too.

Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: Every person has the right to an education.

RESPONSIBILITY: Everyone has the right to education free from political slants, social engineering, or destructive, evil intentions. It is the duty of the state to make education available, but it should not be used to enforce psychological programming. Today some of the most developed western countries have illiteracy rates comparable to third world countries, while fifty years ago they were doing much better. The reason for this is that instead of teaching the basics like writing, arithmetic and reading the way it was successfully done before, in many western countries the schools have become psychological laboratories instead of learning institutions. Billions are being spent to remedy this, yet the simple truth is that the human rights of hundreds of millions of children are being violated. They are not getting a decent education but are instead being socially conditioned, and moreover are forced to take psychiatric drugs for invented, unproven illnesses.

In sheer desperation, in America many parents are homeschooling their children, but these parents and others in the western world should remember to fight for the right of children to get effective schooling. Such schooling must be under the control of the parents and free of enforced psychological, psychiatric or political slants.

We must work for this aim and to help ensure that this right and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights will be taught to the children of the world, to promote tolerance and friendship between all races, religions and nations.

Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: Every person has the right to participate in cultural activities and benefit from scientific advancement.

RESPONSIBILITY: The most valuable quality of a human being is his ability to create new ideas, lifestyles, sciences, and of course art, in all its varieties and forms. Especially here the spirituality and divine essence of man towers above the animal kingdom. Invalidate this aspect of man and you have destroyed his reason for morality, for truth and his basic beauty. Even this very Declaration of Human Rights, universal in scope, is a living proof of the triumph of the human spirit over the most barbarous period in the history of modern man, brought about by the denial of totalitarian materialism by man's own soul.

It is therefore a vital human right that moral and material interests of scientific, literary, or artistic creations of which a person is the author are protected, because such a person creates the future realities of the race and can color the world with grace.

Article 28 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: Every person is entitled to a social order in which these human rights can be realized.

RESPONSIBILITY: Every man, woman and child has a right to the dignity and respect that can be brought about only in a just, international social order. Times must change, and only a shoulder to shoulder effort will accomplish this. Such an effort must include the most creative and able artists and patrons of peace and art, and will make it possible to put an end to man's inhumanity to man, and to the social ignorance and apathy that exists internationally in relation to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to tolerance.

This essential and vital document that has been signed by almost all the nations of the world is an unfulfilled promise. It will remain an idealistic dream on a piece of paper unless we bring it to life in every household, school, and university, in every factory, farm and office, in every town and village, in every mosque, temple or church -- indeed, in the heart of every human being in this world.

Article 29 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: Every person has duties to the democratic society according to the law.

RESPONSIBILITIES: As guardians of the rights expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we must solemnly promise to do everything in our power to promote, protect and defend these rights within the laws of our countries. We must do this in accordance with the principles and purposes of the Declaration, so as to create a climate of tolerance and understanding between all nations, races, religions, and human beings, and a world of peace and happiness with a civilization of which we can be proud.

Article 30 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

RIGHT: No person can take away these rights and freedoms.

RESPONSIBILITY: We must promise to creat a world where no person would even dream of infringing on our human rights and freedoms.

____________

In these rights outlined so well in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in the responsibilities that go hand in hand with them, we have the tools with which to create a world which has until now been only a dream, a wish. Our Promise to the World must become unanimous. This promise begins with you. They are your rights, and your responsibilities.