Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Universal Declaration of Human Rights Turns 60

Today is the 60th anniversary of the United Nations' adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

I urge everybody to read this document which you can find here. It's a shimmering statement of human hope and aspiration, a template for the evolution of humanity.

After reading it, decide for yourself whether we are living up to the sentiments laid out in this document.

To help you focus your mind, here are a few events off the top of my head which have occurred since this declaration was made:

1. the creation of the state of Israel
2. the Korean War
3. the Cold War
4. the invasion of Tibet
5. the invasion of Hungary
6. the Cuban revolution
7. the institution of apartheid in South Africa
8. the Congo
9. the Berlin blockade
10. the Cuban missile crisis, US embargo
11. VietNam
12. Cambodia
13. the Duvaliers in Haiti
14. the anti-nuclear movement
15. the anti-war movement
16. SALT I & II
17. Famine in Biafra
18. Famine in Ethiopia
19. Rwanda
20. Somalia
22. Nigeria
23. Tienanmen Square
24. Pinochet in Chile
25. the Sandinistas in Nicaragua
26. the Green Revolution in India
27. the disintegration of the Soviet Union
28. the disintegration of Yugoslavia
29. Palestine
30. Taliban
32. 9/11
33. Abu Ghraib
34. Guantanamo
35. Burma/Myanmar
36. Patriot Act
37. the end of apartheid in South Africa
38. Canaduh's adoption of a Charter of Rights and Freedoms

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