UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights

On this day in 1948, the UN Commission on Human Rights adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  The full General Assembly followed suit on December 10 of that year, making the Declaration binding on all member nations.  A response to the atrocities committed during World War II, the Declaration establishes two core concepts within the context of International law: fundamental freedoms, and essential human rights.  It recognizes that all of us, and all nations, have both rights and obligations: we are entitled to a broad list of freedoms and rights inherent to all human beings, and are concomitantly obliged to recognize, honor, and implement those freedoms and rights on behalf of all other human beings. You can find the Declaration here: UDHR.

The Declaration is not without its critics.  Some argue that it is too Western-based; that it fails to recognize basic tenets of Islam that are said by some to clash with it; that in a post-modern world the very notion that universal truths and rights exist is a non sequitur. And yet, as I have mentioned in an earlier post, we have seen that all of the world's religious, spiritual, and faith traditions share a common tenet that we often call the "Golden Rule".  What is the Declaration but an elaboration of that broadly-shared principle?

Cynics (and I am often among their ranks) may argue that the Declaration is little more than a pretty piece of verbiage, a toothless paper tiger.  All it takes is a quick glance at the headlines to compile a list of ongoing atrocities all over the world that trample the very notion of freedom and protection of human rights: Rwanda; Afghanistan; Guantanamo; Tiananmen; Congo; Syria.  The list could be much longer, but we get the point.  Genocide; rape as a weapon of war; denial of rights to education, a fair trial, food, medical care; suppression of democracy, women, children, minorities of every description.

That is the bleak picture.  But it is not the full picture.  In all of these places, and in others worldwide, there are people who continue to fight to implement and protect the fundamental freedoms and basic human rights enshrined in the Declaration.  That fight can take innumerable forms, from actual physical intervention to writing a letter to speaking up instead of remaining silent.  It can even take the form of playing a video game: Nicholas Kristof and Cheryl Wu Dunn's groundbreaking Half the Sky game is harnessing the power of social media and the video game as force for positive change, education, and fund-raising, all in the name of empowering women and helping them to rise out of the cycles of poverty and abuse.

There are as many ways to honor and implement the Declaration as there are people who believe in it.  Let's each of us be one of those people.  No effort is too small to matter, no goal too large to attain.  I find myself being reminded more and more these days of the story about the little boy who was throwing starfish, one by one, back into the ocean.  An old man walked by, looked at the thousands of starfish strewn on the beach, and said "Why are you bothering?  There are thousands of starfish here, you cannot possibly make a difference!"  In response to which the little boy picked up another starfish, tossed it into the ocean, and replied "It sure made a difference to that one!"  Wise boy, that one.

~Kathryn~

Common Ground

 

It is early afternoon on the 20th of January.  I am trying without a great deal of success to warm up to the return of NHL hockey, the NFL payoff games don't start until 3:00 EST, and by default I have CNN's beyond-saturation coverage of Mr. Obama's second inauguration chattering away in the background.  As I have many times since U.S. election night, I find myself contemplating the dismal state of intentional mean-spiritness and partisan gridlock that has come to characterize politics---not just in the U.S. but, increasingly, on a global level.  

Even the polite Canadians are engaging: Ontario's parliament was so frozen by partisan sniping that the Premier shut the legislation process down completely months ago and now we sit, without an acting legislative body, waiting for yet another election.  Things are proceeding much more smoothly on the federal level; having finally gained a threadbare majority, Harper is essentially unbridled in his systematic dismantling of the social safety net, womens' programs, and environmental protections.  Back in the U.S., the tragedy of Newtown was in short order perverted into yet another vitriolic vetting about so-called inviolate Second Amendment rights that didn't exist until a few decades ago when the body politic allowed itself to be bought, sold, and buried by the gun lobby.

So here we sit, starting each other down and watching others do the same.  At times (when I haven't had enough sleep, exercise, wine, or the optimal combination thereof) it seems like civil society has become the oxymoron of the 21st century, and that somehow we not only allowed compassion to fall out of vogue but to slip from the lexicon entirely.

Then again, it is the start of a new year.  All things fresh, new, and ripe with possibilities---if only we chose to make it so (thanks, Jean Luc--I adore that phrase).  Anyone who knows me will attest that my Pollyanna days are few and very far between, while my donkey-like stubborn streak is on display with annoying regularity.  For just this once I am going to wholeheartedly embrace that trait and celebrate the fact that I am stubborn: stubborn and cantankerous enough to not allow myself to be permanently dragged down in the quicksand of closed mindedness, deliberate ignorance, and smug intolerance, nor to let my eyes or heart be so clouded that negativity is all I see, or all that I choose for my focus. 

In that spirit I would like to make a modest proposal---a sort of New Year's Resolution for your consideration.  Let us collectively resolve, at least once a week or more often if the opportunity presents itself, to start with ourselves and those around us to stem the tide of discord, to stop staring at each other and to start really listening to each other, to bring to our discourses the kind of respect and compassion for the other person and her or his feelings and viewpoint that we would have them accord to us and ours, to actively seek common ground on however small a scale, and to then cultivate that common ground so that it may grow into something productive rather than sit forever barren.  One conversation, one person, one small meeting of the mind and heart, at a time.  Let us walk not just with our friends, but also with those who we now call enemies in the hope and resolve that they might also become friends in whatever small way.  The journey of a thousand miles...well, you know the rest.

Happy New Year to all.

Kate

Tragedy and Opportunity

Tragedy and Opportunity

By Margaret Capes

Like most, I am deeply saddened by the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut last week. So many lost lives in an instant – too young, too soon.

I was equally saddened to hear of the challenging life of Adam Lanza. Like so many young adults dealing with mental illness, he kept to himself and the world kept swirling around him. A world with little compassion for outsiders, misfits and loners.

This tragedy offers many opportunities for understanding and action. In no particular order, here are my thoughts.

Mental illness strikes 1 in 5 Canadians every year in varying degrees and forms. There is a good chance someone you know has dealt with its challenges.  I have personally and within my own family.

People with mental illness are no more likely to act violently than anyone else. I have been very dismayed how many news outlets have made a tie between Adam’s violent outburst and his mental health issues. Please draw your own conclusions from the facts not the popular media.

It is tragic how we allow our elected officials to spend our tax dollars. The Canadian federal government thinks nothing of spending millions deciding what type of military helicopters to buy but allocates a pittance to effective mental health services for young and old alike. Really?  I urge you to get involved and let the politicians know you support better funding for those in need. You may want to check out the work of the Mental Health Commission of Canada at http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca. Its work is eye opening and progressive.

Our culture of violence needs to change. Strict gun control laws need to continue where they exist and be advocated for where they do not. Video games, movies and TV shows should tone down the mindless maiming and killing. How can such cold, calculated killing (albeit in simulated settings) help the cause?

Finally, I challenge everyone to look inward and think of ways each day you can be more open and compassionate to those who do not always “fit in”. Maybe your efforts will help someone from the darkness Adam Lanza surely lived in most of his young life.

Thoughts ?

The Golden Rule

The Fetzer Institute (a nonprofit foundation focused on increasing awareness of the enormous power of love and forgiveness) informed me that today is Golden Rule Day.  I confess to having a quirky interest in the seemingly innumerable official and unofficial special “days” that keep cropping up, a growth spurt likely attributable in large part by a combination of social media and the e-card industry.  Who can resist Pulaski Day (March 5), or Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day (February 23)?   Who comes up with this stuff?

Although not as obviously eccentric as some, Golden Rule Day nonetheless caught my eye.  But what really got my attention was a poster that Fetzer used to illustrate its Facebook announcement, a poster that answered the question “Who comes up with stuff?” in a way that struck me in both its simplicity and its profundity:

When it comes to the Golden Rule the answer to "Who comes up with this stuff?", it seems, is: "All of us."   From all cultures and traditions, among deists and atheists, monotheists and polytheists, in the East and in the West, regardless of the name of our prophet or whether we even have one, no matter our colour, whether our religious or spiritual tradition predates the written word or is of a much more modern vintage, one tenet is so pervasive that it approaches universality: treat others as you would be treated.  Such a simple concept, imperfectly practiced to be sure, but immeasurably powerful.  The perfect and logical expression of the selflessness of self-interest.  An adage that many of us learned in our youth and have recited so many times since that our tone is now sometimes weary, or cynical.  

One simple rule that holds the key to a world of harmony, where everyone is respected, every life has value, no one knows want, and we all enjoy the same opportunity for personal, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual fulfillment.  In short, the key to a socially-just world.  

One "golden" rule that is shared by people in virtually every corner of the world.  I believe passionately that each of us has the power to change the world and that we do so every day of our lives in ways large and small.  On those days when we look around with dismay and despair at the cruelty, inequity, and pain that plagues so much of our world and its people, remember that we are all united in professing the solution: treat others as you would be treated.  If we each harken back to this seminal teaching, our unity of purpose and action will change the world.

Kathryn

How many times can a man turn his head, 

pretending he just doesn't see?

 ~“Blowin’ in the Wind”, Bob Dylan~

Today is the 47^th observance of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (IDERD).  The Day was declared pursuant to a 1966 United Nations General Assembly Resolution, to be observed annually on March 21.  The date was chosen to mark the 1960 killing by police of 69 peaceful demonstrators in Sharpeville, South Africa who were protesting the "pass laws", a key tool used to control the Black population and maintain the apartheid system. 

I hope the fact that this is the 47^th IDERD is not lost on anyone.  I am fairly certain that the General Assembly members who passed the 1966 Resolution would be heartsick that in 2012 we still have need to observe this day as a reminder of the work that remains to be done in the cause of  eliminating racial discrimination.  I know it makes my heart heavy.  And the irony of the juxtaposition of this Day with the clamour over the killing of Trayvon Martin is bitter in its own right.

I am not going to take a position on either side of the maelstrom that has enveloped this tragic incident.  There is so much pain and anger, so many accusations directed at a wide range of people and institutions, and so few verified facts that I do not believe that I can reasonably conclude anything at this juncture.  That is not to say that I am not utterly dismayed and disappointed that something like this could even have happened.  Like many people, I am, and for a myriad of reasons on multiple levels.  I applaud the outcry for a thorough investigation, and I applaud the fact that this outcry has stimulated the justice system into a response.  How that response plays out will be scrutinized by millions, as it should be.  One thing is already clear to me—there are many lessons to be learned here.  Among them:

• We ignore the issue of racial discrimination at our peril.  The UN made that point in its IDERD Resolution in 1966. It is indeed unfortunate and disheartening that we still struggle with this simple truth today.

• Racial discrimination has many faces.  It is not only about statutes and policies.  It is as much about unconscious and ingrained attitudes and visceral reactions as it is about intentional and obvious bigotry. 

• We all have the capacity for discrimination. It is not the exclusive province of the wealthy or the White or the uneducated. 

• Despite their shortcomings (and every nation has them), we are blessed both in the United States and Canada with societies that listen when we raise our voices in outrage over a potential miscarriage of justice and perversion of the social contract.  The cries of Mr. Martin’s family that were repeated first by mainstream media have turned into a deafening din thanks to social media.  We can be grateful and proud that the peoples’ collective voices are heard by our governments and our justice systems.  That is a privilege and a power that we take for granted, and one that is utterly nonexistent, or fatally flawed, in many other nations.  Without it, we risk outcries turning into an oxymoron called vigilante justice.

• With privilege comes obligation.  By definition, privilege is advantage gained at the expense of those who do not hold it.  If for no reason other than our self-interest in an orderly and peaceful society, we have an obligation to use our voices to eliminate the oppression that accompanies subjugation. 

• Our voices are powerful tools, but only if we use them. 

So on this Day, let’s vow to stop turning our heads, and start making noise.  Let’s make a world in which we will not need to observe the 94^th annual Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Kathryn

We can change the world, rearrange the world…

                                                ~”Chicago”, Graham Nash~

Welcome to the blog of the Deerhaven Centre for Social Justice.  Who are we, and what right have we to adopt such a lofty moniker? 

We are a private, nonprofit entity concerned with social justice issues.  We have no political, governmental, or corporate ties.  We are an unincorporated association.  We do not solicit donations, grants, or contributions.  This is a labour of love and personal moral imperative.  Our individual, educational, and professional backgrounds are both American and Canadian.  Our focus is global, and by that we mean the world that stretches from inside our own doorstep outward to the farthest reaches of the planet we all share. 

Our goal is simple: to change the world for the better.  Yes, we can hear the laughter, the scoffing, and the sarcasm in the background.  But this is neither a joke nor an impossible dream.  Each of us changes the world in ways large and small every day.  Who hasn’t had their day brightened and heart lifted by an unexpected smile, a random act of kindness, or a surprise visit from a beloved friend or relative?  Who hasn’t felt their spirits and heart freefall in response to an insult, rejection, or indifferent attitude meted out by a coworker, family member, or a grumpy barrista?  Who hasn’t been on both the giving and receiving end of these scenarios? 

In all of these cases, intentionally or unconsciously, our reactions good and bad spread out from us and impact those around us as surely as the stone ripples the stream, and in so doing, we change the world around us.  At the Deerhaven Centre, we endeavour to do so with intent and with a focus on fostering social justice: a society in which the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of all are met and in which everyone has the opportunity of full and equal participation.  We have a special interest in human rights, environmental issues, economic justice, public policy, and training lay people to use the legal and justice systems to assist and improve the lives of those who are marginalized and those who live in poverty.  We will be discussing a variety of social justice issues, as well as suggestions for social action, in future blogs. 

We welcome you and invite you to join in the discussion, and in social action.  Help us to change, and rearrange, the world.