Dec. 10 is UN Human Rights Day, a day to remember the basic considerations that all people deserve, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, social or economic status, religion or behavior. Sadly, often it appears that those who most need that reminder are those who live in this country whose very creation was based on the supremacy of the individual over the state and the assertion that all people are equal and have basic, inviolable rights.
It’s appropriate, therefore, that we use this opportunity to remember that even as we expect, and often demand, considerations from others, we also must offer those same considerations to them.
The idea seems simple: Show the people the same respect that we want to receive ourselves.
Unfortunately, implementation of that idea doesn’t seem so simple.
In Christianity, with which a majority of Americans align themselves, the idea is so basic it’s called the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” — treat others the way you want to be treated.
Our very founding document, the Declaration of Independence, asserts the basis for this nation’s creation: All people are created equal, and are naturally endowed with individual rights that include the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
We are free to pursue the lives that we deem best for ourselves, as long as we respect the same freedoms in others.
However, growing numbers of people are acting as if their happiness is based on violating the rights of others and imposing grief and suffering upon them. Violent attacks have risen at an alarming rate in recent years, and they can’t be attributed to traditional criminals or any perceived drug problem.
Those attacks range from the recent break-in and attack against the husband of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to local incidents such as the assault against the director of the National Butterfly Center in Mission — by a congressional candidate from Virginia — and a rash of subsequent threats that forced the center’s closure for three months due to security concerns.
Similar violence occurs around the world, prompting the United Nations to declare the annual Human Rights Day on Dec. 10, the anniversary of the organization’s ratification of its Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The current commemoration begins a yearlong focus that culminates with the 75th anniversary of the declaration that will be held next year.
“In the decades since the adoption of the (declaration) in 1948, human rights have become more recognized and more guaranteed across the globe,” the UN states on its website. The rise of intolerance in the U.S. certainly belies that assertion.
For two centuries our nation has led the call for the defense of human rights and admonished other nations over political imprisonment, women’s rights, workers’ rights and other matters. Our words ring hollow, however, if we don’t set the example by respecting the rights of others here at home.
On Human Rights Day let us recommit ourselves to honoring basic human rights for all, and show the world that we mean what we say.
