Universal Declaration of Human Rights

[a_chatterbox]

What do the Universal Declaration of Human Rights mean?

Article 25. (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness,

Comments

[dreamage]

And do they mean anything today?

Nothing means much today. Afterall, it is April 1st.

[a_chatterbox]

Ah, so you think they're just a big joke?

[dreamage]

Doesn't that summary accurately describe most governments?

[a_chatterbox]

Maybe but the important question is who's laughing and who's being laughed at.

[quikchange]

I haven't read the UN declaration of human rights in many years but I'm not even sure I agree with it myself now. [Dons flame-retardent suit.] What does it mean to say that everybody has the right to something that requires other people to do work for them to have it? If everybody has the right to medical care then does that mean some people - the ones with the ability to provide it - should be forced to do so? Isn't that an infringement of their freedom?

[a_chatterbox]

Right, what you're saying makes sense. But there are some people who think every person should be entitled to some basic level of necessary things before other people start getting condos and pools.
But those people, the ones who want everyone to have something, have been around for years. And there are still starving children in Africa.
So what's with this water issue? Are people saying that it's more important than the food issue now? That all causes should be fought?
We know it's not a good idea to just give all the poor people in countries everything they need, even if we would ever consider that, because it creates dependence (insert cliche fish story here).
Is there a way to help the starving children in Africa without hurting them in the long run? Educate them? But you can't educate children whose families are dying of thirst...

[quikchange]

I feel like I don't see the full picture yet. Why don't thee people have clean water? Sure there must have beeen some there once or nobody would have been living there to begin with, right? Well, what happened to it?

[a_chatterbox]

A lot of people live in areas that aren't close to clean water supplies. Why are they living there? rent was affordable? I don't know.
In some cases the government water supplies were taken over by private companies and people who can't afford clean water are cut off from it.

[zedinbed]

I think the Un was a failed experiment from its beginnings. It was an organization managed by the rich and the powerful to protect the rights of the poor and the weak. How can ANYTHING like that work? The UN is a puppet organization that powerful governments follow only when it suits their purpose.

[a_chatterbox]

Any ideas of a better solution?

[quikchange]

Yes: revolution, without any outside interference from well-meaning busybodies that inadvertently ruin everything.

[a_chatterbox]

You're dying from diarrhea due to unsanitary water consumption but will somehow manage to win a fight against people who can kill you without even coming close to you? Sounds feasible... I suppose with enough numbers it could make some sort of statement. So you're saying that the people who don't have water just aren't desparaate enough and that by trying to help them out we're stopping the momentum behind their force because some of them think we'll get somewhere and are waiting to be saved? So really, we should do nothing about our disproportionate wealth except enjoy what's ours because of the struggles of people who came before us because we really can't do anything that would truly be helpful?