Hi Platt, 3WD, DMB, Marco and all,
PLATT
> . . . You may have noticed I have attempted on several occasions
> to draw out from our liberal friends exactly what they mean when they,
> like in Pirsig's famous "sentimental soup of sentiments" scene, cheer
> for human rights. Marco did not hesitate to respond that he meant the
> specific rights Pirsig enumerated--freedom of speech; freedom of
> assembly, of travel; trial by jury; habeas corpus; government by
> consent. I prefer your list to Pirsig's, but beyond either one I would not
> go except to add the specific right to property which someone (Marco?)
> has already suggested, the right of religious freedom and the right to
> bear arms "to return the favor" as you put it.
>
Judging from my "political compass" score, I probably qualify as one of
Platt's "liberal friends" (like several others, I place close to Gandhi).
Platt, rather than EXTEND the list of human rights, I think it more useful
to generalize it:
IMO the underlying principal is the RIGHT to DIGNITY.
Dignity is not easy to specify in absolute(!) terms. What qualifies as
dignity is determined to a great extent by society. In much of the developed
world, dignity depends on material things (where you live, how you dress . .
.) and it doesn't come cheap!!! It is difficult to maintain dignity if you
live in poverty, though not impossible. Gandhi retained his dignity going
round wearing nothing more than sandals, a dhoti and a shawl. On the other
hand, because few of us have the inner strength to be like Gandhi, I believe
that society has an obligation to provide the means for people to maintain
their dignity. This is one of the reasons I support the idea of the welfare
society.
Jonathan
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