Human Rights

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

The world needs to step it up:

BBC NEWS | Special Reports | World 'failing on human rights'

[Dave Kaminski]

We need to step it up. It really does start inside.

Every second of every day is another chance to push human rights recognition in the right direction. Let's all work together, huh?

ATC - how do you think we could use this thread to help raise human rights awareness and breed ideas for all of us to help promote human rights?

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

Originally Posted by Dave Kaminski

We need to step it up. It really does start inside.

Every second of every day is another chance to push human rights recognition in the right direction. Let's all work together, huh?

ATC - how do you think we could use this thread to help raise human rights awareness and breed ideas for all of us to help promote human rights?

We can start by treating ourselves and those immediately around us with greater respect and compassion. And, we can open our eyes to what's going on in the world instead of staying so insulated in the relatively comfortable US (where they at least try to hide these abuses from us).

I hoped to hear some ideas about what we can do in this thread because I am not sure what we can do nationally or globally. For one, I would put my vote to work and use it to elect officials with a strong interest in human rights. We can support causes like Amnesty International. We can write letters to our officials speaking out. In this thread we can put up articles that talk about the issue and hopefully find some resources that will show us how to make a difference.

What more?

[Dave Kaminski]

I think we should make this thread into a quasi-manifesto, for what is education without action!?

Let's spend some time researching (I'll pledge 2 hours today to find a human rights issue I think I can and should support locally) and then let others know what path we're taking to support our local issues!

Anyone with me!? Up for the challenge?!

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

Originally Posted by Dave Kaminski

I think we should make this thread into a quasi-manifesto, for what is education without action!?

Let's spend some time researching (I'll pledge 2 hours today to find a human rights issue I think I can and should support locally) and then let others know what path we're taking to support our local issues!

Anyone with me!? Up for the challenge?!

Great idea. I'll see what I can find locally as well.

[Dave Kaminski]

Maybe we can formulate a call to action on this thread, finalize it as an idea, and then post a new thread where people will pledge and agree and post their progress?

I'd say that would be using this forum to it's potential, wouldn't you?!

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

Originally Posted by Dave Kaminski

then let others know what path we're taking to support our local issues!

I've found this site that lists volunteer organizations in my area that deal with advocacy and human rights. I am going to look into each one and see what I will do first.

Nonprofit Organization Search Results

[Amadeus]

We need to step it up. It really does start inside.

DAVE

Huh? Step it up how. We should just sit down and try to reason with these people who are hurting their citizens. Sure hundreds of thousands more will die, but we need to talk and be civilized. Because God only knows if we decide to "invade" (liberals love this word) we might accidentally kill one civilian while saving potentially hundreds of thousands of lives. We need to be civil and compasionate for these leaders.

[Syr]

While the article focuses on torture, in most "democracies" more and more rights are restricted and privacy infringed by the government, all in the name of "the war on terror". In democracies the government should be afraid of the people and not vice versa.

My idea of terrorists is shifting more and more from angry, frustrated zealots to the people we've "elected".

Dave: I think people reading this thread are probably interested in human rights anyway. But people can write their representative in the senate to look into things. Some other threads on these forums (especially those dealing with religions) show that many of us have to "improve" their own views as well.

[Dave Kaminski]

Originally Posted by Syr

While the article focuses on torture, in most "democracies" more and more rights are restricted and privacy infringed, all in the name of "the war on terror". In democracies the government should be afraid of the people and not vice versa.

My idea of terrorists is shifting more and more from angry, frustrated zealots to the people we've "elected".

As it should - they're so focused on terrorists because they are their competition - they are just better at (or have more of a standing relationship) concealing and twisting terror than the terrorists.