One of the disquieting awkwardnesses of the later stages of life is the realization that there are many bedrock ideas you are now older than, for better and for worse.
For example, you could say that people my age (75) are older than human rights.
That somewhat shocking assertion is based in the fact that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights wasn’t issued by the UN until late 1948, after we early Baby Boomers were already toddling on the scene.
It is a tragic reality of human history that it took until the end of World War II for the world to get around to taking such an elemental step toward equality and justice.
Then again, women only got the right to vote in the U.S. a century ago, and racial segregation persisted into the 1960s. Sexism and racial discrimination remain embedded structurally in our society to this day.
The achievement of full human rights anywhere on the planet remains elusive and aspirational, which is why the work of advocacy organizations devoted to exposing human rights abuses is so important.
Every single day, as I gather the news headlines, reports of egregious human rights abuses surface here and overseas. Today in Miramar, for example, villages are burning while in Michigan yet another unarmed black man was shot and killed by police after a traffic stop.
And of course there is the ongoing unprovoked extermination of civilians in Ukraine.
Lately I’ve become newly curious about origin of our fundamental concepts of human rights. Historians have long traced it back to 539 BC, when Cyrus the Great conquered the city of Babylon, freed the slaves, and declared that people should have a choice in their religion.
This inspired many of the reforms in Greece, Rome and India — societies that advanced the rights and freedoms of people beyond what previously had been known.
It was many centuries later before seminal advances like the U.S. Declaration of Independence in 1776.
That occurred just over the equivalent of three of my lifetimes ago. We still have a long way to go as a species, but there is some small comfort that over the past 75 years, we’ve made some progress inside the U.S. on civil rights, women’s rights, gay and lesbian rights (if not along the entire spectrum of gender and sexuality), disability rights, and discriminatory practices like ageism, bullying, religious extremism and many other forms of hate.
Let’s hope that over the next 75 years that progress on all of these human rights issues accelerates in every corner of the globe. Our common humanity requires that to happen. Please speak out in support of tolerance of all kinds, as well as for the people and the organizations in your community in pursuit of that goal.
Today’s News (46):
‘Clear Patterns’ of Russian Rights Abuses Found in Ukraine, Report Says (NYT)
VIDEO: Yellen Warns China Against Undermining Sanctions on Russia (AP)
Moscow digs in for protracted fight as war stretches into 50th day (WP)
Russian navy evacuates badly damaged flagship in Black Sea. Ukraine claims it was hit by a missile (CNN)
The flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet was seriously damaged and its crew evacuated today, following an explosion on board that Ukraine said was caused by a missile strike. The loss of the missile cruiser would be a blow for Russia, as it readies for a new assault in the eastern Donbas region that is likely to define the outcome of the conflict. (Reuters)
Pentagon confirms explosion aboard Russian warship (Politico)
Pressure on US to give Ukraine more intelligence on Russia (AP)
We need more weapons and we need them now, Zelensky tells BBC (BBC)
Despite Russian Warnings, Finland and Sweden Draw Closer to NATO (NYT)
One of Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest allies warned NATO that if Sweden and Finland joined the U.S.-led military alliance, then Russia would have to bolster its defences in the region, including by deploying nuclear weapons. (Reuters)
Ominous rhetoric gains ground in Russia as war struggles persist in Ukraine (WP)
Biden commits another $800 million in assistance during one-hour call with Zelenskyy (USA Today)
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) proposed making the U.S. a member of the International Criminal Court in The Hague and repealing a George W. Bush-era law that requires the U.S. to block the court from investigating Americans. “It’s really important for us not to have a law on the books that says in many ways it is OK for everyone to be prosecuted” but not Americans, Omar said. [HuffPost]
Lithuanian Defence Minister Arvydas Anusauskas says Russia already has nuclear weapons in the Baltic region. Anusauskas said that nuclear weapons have been deployed in Russia's Kaliningrad exclave on the Baltic Sea since before the current crisis. (Reuters)
Ukraine war is ‘massive setback’ for global economic recovery, says IMF chief (Financial Times)
Pencil Cases and Air-Raid Sirens: School at War for Ukraine’s Children (NYT)
Poland builds a border wall, even as it welcomes Ukrainian refugees (WP)
RNC votes to withdraw from Commission on Presidential Debates (Fox)
Blaming Trump, Jan. 6 Suspect Says He Fell Down a ‘Rabbit Hole’ of Lies (NYT)
Grassley says Republicans won’t repeal Affordable Care Act if they retake Senate (WP)
California voters say state is moving in the wrong direction, feel financial squeeze (LAT)
Rents in the U.S. increased by 17.1% in the past year, to an average of $1,792 per month, a new report found. The steepest hikes: Austin at 40% and Portland, Ore., at 39%. (WP)
Billionaire Elon Musk, a critic of social media who weeks ago became Twitter's largest shareholder, offered to buy all of the company's shares for $54.20 each. That's a 54% premium over the share price the day before Musk began investing in the company in January. "Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it," he said. [HuffPost]
Live Analysis: Musk Says He Has ‘Sufficient Assets’ to Make Purchase (WSJ)
Russian companies and global banks including BNY Mellon, Deutsche Bank, Citigroup and JPMorgan could profit if Moscow moves to de-list Russian companies' depositary receipts from foreign exchanges, according to two people familiar with the matter. (Reuters)
Canada ignored warnings of virus infecting farmed and wild salmon (Guardian)
Pfizer COVID-19 booster provides strong immune boost in kids ages 5-11, new study shows (USA Today)
China Covid-19 Lockdowns Spread Beyond Shanghai to Other Cities (WSJ)
Reuters poll has shown China's economic growth is likely to slow to 5.0% in 2022 amid renewed COVID outbreaks and a weakening global recovery, raising pressure on the central bank to ease policy further. (Reuters)
The Complicated Politics of Crypto and Web3 (Economist)
Senators, staff question Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s fitness to serve (SFC)
Hubble Confirms Giant Comet With 85-Mile-Wide 'Dirty Snowball' Nucleus (CNET)
For the first time, wind power eclipsed both coal and nuclear in the U.S. (NPR)
Dozens of satellite images, reviewed by Reuters, show widespread torching of villages in the central part of Myanmar. (Reuters)
Videos show Michigan officer fatally shooting Black man (CBS)
The Pentagon Just Confirmed the First-Ever Interstellar Visitor to Earth (Popular Mechanics)
Taxes 2022: Here's how to get a filing extension from the IRS (CBS)
Husband of Japan's former princess not on NY bar exam pass list (NHK)
Climate Report Finds Antarctica Could Support Multiple Golf Courses By 2050 (The Onion)
No comments:
Post a Comment