Sunday, March 24, 2013

The Right to Self-Determination... Right to Be... Nations

In November 2012,
I wrote the Right to Be in relation to individual people--
everyone being free to be who they are.

But the Right to Be also means the right to simply exist.
And this means a nation, a religious group, a race or any other group
connected by a commonality.

A resolve to commit to non-judgment 
is a step that upholds the Right to Peace.


Upholding this right also means that we have to push back---
push back against extreme ideas or judgments, 
but not all extreme ideas, for some are creative,
only those that thrive on conflict and destruction,
those ideas that destroy the Right to Be.

Although I placed the Right to Be
into the constellation of Free Will Rights,
it really belongs in the constellation of Future Rights,
because as commenter JDF points out,
it is "a battle that will have to be fought for a long time."

37 comments:

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, ladies and gentleman, each and everyone of us in this earth, has something about someone, or anything, that we do not agree with. The right to peace nation wide could NOT be possible. Most of us belong to different groups in society, there is such a thing as hate, differences, and disagreements. There is a place of hope, and we call that Heaven.
We all have the right to be, and its always better when we have people with common interests to share our lives with, that is why we get into these groups. Some may love and alot will hate. As long as you believe....

Anonymous said...

F.P!

Anonymous said...

Every man, woman and child has needs and rights as you do. As humans we need to live for each other and help each other. Team spirit connects a nation, religious group, a race or any other group
JC

Anonymous said...

We are no way different from everyone else, everything i need everyone also needs. We as humans forget sometimes that there is people out there that are in need of things that we have plenty of. when we share the blessing we have with others is when when we are officially connected and relating to others. we are one nation and we all exist no matter what race, religion,or nationality we are.

-NAT

Anonymous said...

I don't know about pushing back on ideas and judgements, after all many groups have expose the naked truth about human problems that lead to great liberty. We should not judge one's right to be. Conversely, if we critic the ideas in silence does this mean that we are destroying the right to be?

JA

Anonymous said...

Accepting cultures and religion that you are not familiar with is impossible. People do not ask or try to inform themselves they just judge. Some people push religion on others too, which is no good either. An example of this is two different groups. Group 1 is ethnocentrism, a belief that one’s own ethnic background is superior, and tendency to fear or judge others as groups versus as individuals. Group 2 is xenocentrism, a belief that other cultures are superior to one’s own culture and that one’s own culture has little value.
NDC

Anonymous said...

What make us unique are our differences. It doesn't matter the religion, race, country; we all belong to a multicolored mosaic and every peace is important with an specific function. If we belief in god, we must think the others as our creator's children; if we belong to a particular country, we must think the others as fellow citizens; if we are different in race, we must think the others as relatives from different backgrounds. Understanding differences makes us live in peace.
HA

Anonymous said...

Peace is a vital requirement for the promotion and protection of all human rights for all. Respecting other groups' religions, race and customs, makes us reasonable and knowledgeable virtuous individuals, capable of understanding and accepting others differences. Not understanding each other, can end in a violent conflict like the one with the Palestinians and the Israelites, where a lot of people have lost their lives. Even though, I think that todays' society is more open to understand others cultures, religions, and even sexual preferences, specially in the United States, where there is so much immigration from all over the world.
Anay R

Anonymous said...

Individuals of all groups will not all respect other groups religions, believes, or race because their societies' have raised them with specific believes, and with believes comes judgment that they are better then others. The right to be, is still a battle that will have to be fought for a long time and i believe it will never come to a complete agreement of peace.

JDF

Anonymous said...

Society will not push back against extreme ideas or judgments. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. People from back in the day are very stubborn, and will refuse to accept any change that they disagree with, or conflicts with what they believe in. The right to be will be accepted by the people who are open-minded, and rejected by the rest. JAP

Anonymous said...

According to Article I of UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS: All people are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. Article II states that: Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or otherwise, national or social origin, property, birth or any other condition. And finally Article III summarizes with: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. The UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS was adopted and proclaimed on December 10, 1948, 65 years have passed and people still have been suffering with prejudice in a large range. People are not free to express their beliefs. Diversity is what makes humankind interesting and unique. Let’s celebrate the differences between nations!
N.

Anonymous said...

For me the key is COEXISTENCE which is to live in peace with another or others despite differences. As we learn to respect other people we consider different in any way from us, we would be able to understand those things that differentiate us from them and appreciate those things that we all have in common.
MS

Anonymous said...

The right to be a nation is a double-edged sword. It can bring as much good or evil into this world , it's all about being responsible with that great amount of power from the people. That's why one should always be careful with certain political or radical groups.-LL

Anonymous said...

Our world is not perfect. However, I believe that one day humanity will be just one big nation. We need to understand that discriminating against people by their creed, sexual orientation, or race is not justified. There are lots of groups reaching others seeking for acceptance and understanding. Let’s open our hearts to the new nation. / AR

Anonymous said...

I feel that the Right to Be is practiced everywhere in the world but it doesn't always result in peace. People all over the world get punished for being how they want to be. How they feel they are meant to exist as.

Peace among nations can never be possible because there will always be governments and groups of people with extreme ideas that they believe are the way for everyone. People will always judge one another and there will always be those that their way is the right way.

Anonymous said...

^^^^^
^^^^^


JB

Michel Souza said...

I don't see peace as such an unattainable notion. Obviously there will many things that not everyone can agree on, however that does not mean we cannot respect one another. I think to obtain peace other important factors need to be considered. Its a shame that there are parts of the world where people do not have established a stable set of human rights. Everyone should be allowed that, if anything.

-Michel Souza

Anonymous said...

Without being judged by people, how can we thrive to prove that we are worthy? Without pain there would be no happiness.

NMM

Anonymous said...

If the right to be nation exist this world would better place, so much unnecessary hate through history to even now. and its also sad that some countries its a religion to hate others. or politics to steal oil, or territory. or the abuse of animals around the world. i wish for some places would be more ethical. and maybe be more united.
M.C

Anonymous said...

I believe there are some things that we must not judge simply because it is not our place. Not because I am a religious extremist or any sort, simply because nature is the one that brought us here. We were all born because it is natural for our species to reproduce; we came into life. Everyone has the right to be otherwise we just would not be at all.

AJR.

Anonymous said...

The key to coexist has been defined in the human history by respect and social organization. Religions and ideologies must not divide people. The first step to create nations, need to be the right to respect the costumes and cultures of other people.
RC

Anonymous said...

Without being judged by people, how can we thrive to prove that we are worthy? Without pain there would be no happiness.

NMM/Mercy

Anonymous said...

In a Utopian world we would treat humans as humans and look past any differences of religion, race, and other factors of judgment. Unfortunatly, we live in a world that judgments are passed no matter what. Everyone's wish is for peace in but no one takes responsibility in our daily lives to keep ourselves from judging others. Peace starts in ourselves and treating others as humans instead of race, color, and belief.

KMatos

Anonymous said...

Honestly speaking, this nation is still full of hatred. To have peace nation wide is really going to be a huge challenge because a lot of countries, races, religious groups, etc. conflict because they don’t agree in nationality, beliefs, politics, etc. I think us as a human race should come together and become like one, because this world would be a lot strong and that would help prevent any wars, hatred, and religious differences. We would not have to worry about any terrorist attacks , or suicide bombings Though my b belief far-fetched, I believe anything is possible if we put are minds into it as a unity.



--EO

Anonymous said...

There are many groups around the world who have been denied the right to exist as a nation. An example of this is the Basques in Northern Spain. The Basques have their own ethnicity and language. As a matter of fact, not even expert linguists have been able to determine where the Basque language comes from. They are completely and absolutely different from the rest of the Spaniards. Even when one travels through the Basque country side, the difference can be appreciated. The Basques take pride in cultivating their land, working on it, and profiting from its fruit. The Basque country provides Spain with a big chunk of their production of goods, which is why Spain does not want to let it go. They have all the requirements a group should have to become a nation, but they do not have the freedom to do it. So, they continue to be part of Spain, regardless of their desire to become a nation. This, in turn, has created, throughout the decades, the existence of extremist groups who constantly terrorize people across the country. If the Basques were given their right to nation, many of the problems the country faces today would vanish. ATM

Anonymous said...

In my opinion, the right to "be" involves the right to freely express our individualities. The right to be part of a "nation" involves the right to belong, to be part of a group with common ancestors, history, culture and territory. In order to live in peace, individuals-Nation, people have to understand that each individual have the right to be, and respect each others individualities and differences. As long as one person or a group of people think that their beliefs, ideas, culture, race or religion are superior than the others, we will have no peace. M.J.

Anonymous said...

I have noticed that one of the main reasons people judge each other so easily is because they are not fully aware of the difference between race and ethnicity.When most people talk about it they confuse both and in turn make their statement or conversation not credible or valid.
This link explains the difference the best.
http://www.diffen.com/difference/Ethnicity_vs_Race
-K.V

Anonymous said...

Life is beautiful, it's mankind that's disgusting.
NDC

Anonymous said...

The universal declaration of human rights starts with: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights". The international community vowed never again to allow atrocities like world war 2 and its conflict happen again. The right to exist was recently promoted in Israel by a famous world leader. The same leader signed a bill that allows the killing of thousands of unborn human beings each month. Have we really progressed? Are we really being consistent about what we say and what we preach?
- IDO

Anonymous said...

Acceptance is the key element, but one that proves to be difficult to embrace by everyone. All over the world, conflicts exists between nations, races, and groups, and parties involved in the conflict most often do little to nothing to work on solutions that won't affect other people, even if the people suffering the consequences are people that wholeheartedly wish that the higher entities that govern them would live and let live. The Right to Be is definitely one that, if it could be possibly followed by everyone, would change the world a lot.

GV

Anonymous said...

The Black Panthers were a group of African Americans that fought for the Right to Be. They were pushed and shoved into a corner and became the Panthers that pushed back. In this world this "rule" goes for almost any ANIMAL, yes I said animal because in the end we are all animals that should be treated equally. Not in a "everyone has equal pay just because" but in a way that we could at least respect one another and each others beliefs without any disrespect or negativity. We all are equal in some way so be civilized and act that way!
-AC.

Anonymous said...

In the past there was much prejudice so groups like the black panthers had to arise to fight for their rights. Now people are fighting for gay equality and groups will arise again, the right to being a free nation allows us to do this and we sometimes forget how lucky we are. In countries like Cuba if you were gay you would be sent to working camps just for showing any slight unacceptable difference. The right to be a nation is a long process that will hopefully spread worldwide some day.

KDP

Anonymous said...

There is so much ignorance in the world because education is greatly lacking. People are offensive to things they can’t understand. That’s why I think it’s so to learn about other cultures, whether it’s by travel or books or even the internet. If you zoom out and examine everyone as a whole, we are all working for the same goals. We all want to live life to the fullest. We just have different ways of getting there.

Anonymous said...

There is so much ignorance in the world because education is greatly lacking. People are offensive to things they can’t understand. That’s why I think it’s so to learn about other cultures, whether it’s by travel or books or even the internet. If you zoom out and examine everyone as a whole, we are all working for the same goals. We all want to live life to the fullest. We just have different ways of getting there.
~LLSE

Anonymous said...

I believe that in an ideal world, we would stop trying to group ourselves into different categories based on ethnicity or even as nations. I believe no good has ever come out of trying to make a catalog of humanity, only preconceived notions that lead to intolerance, and in the worst cases, scapegoating by an entire nation (Nazi Germany).

The stark reality is that we must sometimes join together to protect our rights. The first amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects the right to peaceful assembly for this very reason. It is necessary for those that are subjugated to push back against those that subjugate them. A good example of this is The African-American Civil Rights Movement of the 60s. However, had there been no line drawn in the sand in the first place, all those issues could have been avoided.

Jo L Lo

Anonymous said...

The Right to Be, unfortunately, DOES have to be placed in the Constellation of Future Rights. This is our own fault, however. We must learn to tolerate different religious factions, races, and any other type of groups. Once we do this, as humans, we will have The Right to Peace. When will we understand that our differences is what makes us beautiful? If everyone looked and believed the same ideals, life would be quite boring and dull. Acceptance is what will change this right, from the constellation of Future Rights, to another constellation. Together, however, we can make this change happen.

AYS

Anas said...

I disagree with most of what was mentioned. I do not think that any mother would allow her son to smoke, especially that they know the risks, I believe that freedom of belief must be after the age of majority, because they do not realize the consequences of their choice