The Theme of Blog Action Day for 2013 it Human Rights. What a wonderful theme. In our day to day lives it is easy to develope a tunnel vision and over look a topic such as this. I've participated in Blog Action Day since the first one back in 2007 and I'm excited about participating again this year.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed". This comes from the American Declaration of Independence and many Americans and people around the world will be familar with the concept of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. As Americans this is the baseline for Human Rights, meaning this is the minimum of Human Rights that all of us can expect. As a people, the human race on our planet is failing on even this baseline of Human Rights, but we can also aspire to lift ourselves up and to improve our conditions!
What are Human Rights? The video does a nice job of explaining the idea of Human Rights "From the start of our lives there are certain things that our governments must do to help us reach out potential...These expectations and claims we have of our government are called human rights." These include (but aren't limited to):
Respect- avoid putting limits on what people can do
Protect- safeguard a person from abuse
Fullfill- to provide basic conditions to allow a person to achieve their potential
Different Views on Human Rights
As people we often tend to believe (and assume) that everyone else shares our beliefs and views and it is often inferred that when other people don't share our same beliefs and views that they're somehow weird or inferior to us. There are genuine differences in culture, religion, and other factors that lead to our differences in beliefs and views and wherever and whenever possible these should be respected. These differences can and often have led to difficulty in agreeing on what Human Rights are and should be.
We Can Agree
When we think about our children, our grandkids, our brothers, our sisters, and children growing up in all parts of the world, most of us can agree that we want the best for them and the conditions that they grow under will be nurturing and supportive for their development. everyoneerent Because someone doesn't share our same belief and view on religion, this should not be held against them.
Not Us Verses Them
Human Rights are not a Right or Left thing. They are not a Liberal or Conservative thing. They are not a this religion or that religion thing or even a religion thing. Human Rights are something that all of us have because we're human.
What Can I Do
The Blog Action Day Team has assembled a great playlist on YouTube highlighting some of the issues related to Human Rights. I'm sure you'll find something there that peaks your interest and something that you can promote. I highly recommend reading The Universal Declaration of Human Rights from the UN. Bog Action Day has set up a profile on Pinterest. I've set up a board for Blog Action Day and Blog Action Day 2013 (feel free to repin and create your own boards). They're on Twitter, Facebook,Tumblr, Google+, and YouTube. You can look at the video below and participate in this year's activities. Remeber that Blog Action Day is on October 16, 2013 this year.
I want to see a better world for my daughters, for all the children of the world. I want to see a world where they're limited only by their own imagination, motivation, and desires. I want to see a world where we help each other to make our dreams come true and to reach out true potential.
Darryl
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