Human rights have improved over the years due to the hard work of others
In the 1700's one person that helped change human rights was Thomas Paine. Paine believed that the government and the laws should cater to the need of the people and the government should be elected by the people so that their beliefs can be represented. In April 1787, Paine headed back to England where he soon became fascinated with what he heard of the roiling French Revolution. He passionately supported the Revolution, so when he read Edmund Burke's 1790 attack on it, he was inspired to write the book Rights of Man (1791) in response. The tract moved beyond supporting the French Revolution to discussing the basic reasons for discontent in European society, railing against a monarchic society, calling for a "bloody revolution." The British government banned the book and Paine was indicted for treason, although he was already on his way to France when the decree went out and avoided prosecution. Another Person that was a big influence in the betterment of humans would be Marry Wollstonecraft. Wollstonecraft believed in women's right and thought they should be improved. She thought that women were not at their full potential due to the barriers that were put around them, and how they were based too much on their looks.
In the 1800's, Friedrich Nietzsche received a remarkable offer to become professor of classical philology at the University of Basel in Switzerland. He was only 24 years old and had neither completed his doctorate nor received a teaching certificate. Despite the fact that the offer came at a time when he was considering giving up philology for science, he accepted. He believed that each man and woman should develop their own moral values and not rely on anything or anyone tell them how to live. Nietzsche Said, "The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself". What he is saying is that you should do anything to prevent someone else from owning you. He also believed that everyone is capable of being a god to themselves (the perfect form of themselves that they must fight to achieve). He spoke of mankind being in between animal and "ubermensch" and it was up to each man and woman to decide how far along the line they will travel to become a god.
In the 1900's Bonhoeffer was known for his resistance to the Nazi party, including vocal opposition to Hitler's euthanasia program and genocidal persecution of the Jews. He was arrested in April 1943 by the Gestapo and imprisoned at Tegel prison for one and a half years. Later he was transferred to a Nazi concentration camp. Bonhoeffer against the Nazi party and what they stood for and for that he was executed by hanging on 9 April 1945. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLiRuu_-SIY. Bonhoeffer believed in the rights of others even when Hitler was publicly trying to make their rights not important. Also another individual who helped improved human rights in the 1900's was Martin Luther King. He was an American Baptist minister, activist, humanitarian, and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement and is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights. Martin Luther King said "We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools". This is saying that people need to learn to get along because we need each other to succeed and if we cant learn to be treat each other equally we will not be successful.
I believe that in today's society humans rights are one of the most important things we value. Over the years we have worked hard to get them to this point and i believe that they will only get better. Either if it one one person who sticks up for many, or just a slow transformation that people have, human rights will always be improving.
Works Cited
“A Biography of Thomas Paine (1737-1809).” American History. N.p., 2012. Web. 15 June 2015. <http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/biographies/thomas-paine/>.
“Mary Wollstonecraft Biography.” BIO. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 June 2015. <http://www.biography.com/people/mary-wollstonecraft-9535967>.
Wilkerson, Dale. “Friedrich Nietzsche (1844—1900).” Internet encyclopedia of philosophy. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 June 2015. <http://www.iep.utm.edu/nietzsch/>.
I do agree that there were some much needed improvements made to human rights since the 1600s, like the Napoleonic code, which eliminated privileged jobs in government. However, the issue of human rights will never be as significant as both science and reason.
ReplyDeleteScience is the most important idea during these centuries, because of the creations and advancements it has lead to. For example, the steam engine was one of society's most impactful objects; as it lead to a complete shift in society's commonly subscribed paradigm. What the creation also spawned was human rights issues. Workers in factories commonly comprised of children, who were expected to work 13 hour days with little to no break. Interestingly, issues with human rights only occurred when science got to a point of such great advancement that society was unsure how to handle it.
Many address social science as a subsection of science, or a proximate relative; but the point is that there have also been significant global changes caused by scientific discovery which was then applied to societal problems.
Take social Darwinism for example - Charles Darwin focused heavily on evolutionary biology, and theorized that every species is a descendant of another, one which is genetically modified greatly or minutely in order to survive in its suited environment. He titled this theory "Natural Selection". “Natural selection almost inevitably causes much extinction of the less improved forms of life” (Darwin, 1861). His ideas were then applied to society in the 1800s, when it was argued that the lower class of people should be left to die, as they were unable to perform any beneficial adaptation, and would only be a hindrance to the government. While a fairly new and heinous ideology, it was still inspired by scientific creation, and due to its heinous nature, led to the advancement of human rights.
While people like MLK Jr played and extremely important role in the world's history, true progression can only be made through the use of science and reason.
Dear Shayne,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading about human rights in your blog post. As a patriotic Canadian Citizen I can appreciate and agree with your views on human rights as being one of the most important things we as a nation value. Through out history it has been prevalent that human rights has been something that humanity has worked hard to create. I liked your example about Martin Luther King, and how he spoke out about equality witch is still a major problem in western culture today. A lot of the racial discrimination and hate crimes going on today would not be occurring if more people lived by his quote "We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools." Many people in today's society are still very close minded and for whatever reason expect to be treated kindly but when it comes to other cultures and races do not feel the need to treat them with equality and kindness. If more people decided to make a stand and treat people with equality the would would be a safer kinder place. Finally I agree with your statement regarding how human rights will always be improving. I find this very true because as more ethnicities and people of different cultures immigrate into Canada and move them selves into society and communities I feel that many people would be able to understand and accept people better.
I completely agree that human rights are commonly changed by the intense work of one person. In almost any situation where huge human rights issues were changed, it is normally due to one person who could connect the people together to end the issue. I agree that Thomas Paine, although his book was banned was banned for treason, Thomas Paine was another one of these contributors who helped unify the people to change an issue with human rights. Wollstonecraft, as one of the most important contributors to human rights should have been expanded on more. Wollstonecraft believed that women are not naturally inferior to men, but only appears to be due to a lack of education. She believed that these barriers were literal barriers that women were not allowed to cross due to social structure. I have never looked much into Nietzsche and the view he shared before, but am fascinated in his idea that “everyone is capable of being a god to themselves”. He seemed to be more about establishing the rights of individuals within themselves rather than changing a human rights issue itself. I think your idea of “human rights have improved over the years due to the hard work of others” is most true to Martin Luther King. MLK is possibly the biggest symbol for civil rights and is because he was one of these huge contributors to changing a human rights issue. Just because human rights are changed due to the mass contribution of others however does not suggest that they are the only ones who try to fix the issue causing them to be the biggest figures of change. Many people had tried to stop the civil rights problems being issued to African Americans, but MLK was able to bring the people together to stop that issue. I would say that is the biggest reason as to how all of these people are known as these “leaders” to human rights change, as all of them know how to share their view connecting to almost anyone who is open minded to the opinion. Although it is proven here how much human rights has affected the Western World, I question if and how it will continue to be.
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