Human Rights

            One of the most frequently heard concepts in modern social and political discourse is human rights.  In fact, there is sometimes widespread disagreement about the actual meaning of this term.  I find it frustrating to think that in the year 2015 we, as a community of nations, have still not formulated or recognized a single declaration of human rights.  How can we protect and preserve our rights if we lack a clear understanding of what these rights entail?  I mean a declaration of human rights irrespective of nationality, religion, gender, or social class.  I suggest the following as the three most basic human rights:  The right to food; the right to health care; and the right to privacy.

            First of all, no person should be forced to be  hungry.  We live in a world that despite rising populations still manages to produce more than enough food to feed everyone.  As a simple exercise, think about all the food you waste during the course of a week.  And I am going to assume that you are not a wealthy person!  Now imagine if, instead of throwing this food away, you were somehow able to provide it to some other individual who needs more food.  Now, I am not suggesting the it is our responsibility individually to provide food to the hungry; it is a moral responsibility, but not a practical way to solve the problem of hunger.  No, instead, I propose that governments ensure that there are facilities for feeding the hungry.  Frankly, I don't care what it costs.  Furthermore, when drought or famine strikes a nation or region, other, wealthier, luckier nations must immediately help ease the suffering from hunger in these regions.

            Secondly, once everyone has been fed, we all deserve the information, the medicine, and the care we need in order to maintain our health.  No one should suffer from preventable illnesses; no one should be forced to endure pain from accidents; no one should be forced to choose between medicine and paying the rent.  How can a nation claim to love its citizens if a large percentage of them cannot afford to pay for health care?  Look, I am not talking about hair transplants, liposuction, or in vitro fertilization.  I mean access to health care professionals in order to prevent, cure, or manage illness and pain.  Once again, the cost doesn't matter; how can we justify spending trillions of dollars on weapons when poor children die from diseases that can be easily cured and prevented?

            Finally, I realize that, had I written this essay ten years ago, I would not have even considered the right to privacy as a significant human right.  Over the past decade, however, I have come to see that we all face a dangerous environment in which nothing we do as individuals can be said to be private.  We hear stories about our phone conversations, our internet searches, and even the television programs we watch being monitored

 and, potentially, analyzed.  We should realize that during the average day, we are literally being recorded during  a large portion of our daily lives.  Even our web cams can be controlled without our knowledge or consent to spy on our so-called private activities.  Some people worry that individuals will hijack a webcam in order to see someone walking around nude in his or her house; to me, this is obviously unlikely, since few of us actually do walk around in the nude, and even if we did, it is hard to imagine that someone would go to the trouble to watch this spectacle.  No, I think it is far more worrying that a government, law enforcement agency, or private organization could, can, and do monitor our private lives .  I am not a technical expert, but I believe we  need some sort of electronic "off switch" to ensure our right to be alone and to trust the security of our private lives.

            I admit that a list of human rights could potentially grow into dozens if not hundreds of items.  What we must work for is to find the balance between personal liberty, national and religious beliefs, and the welfare of the majority.  although it is not easy, fundamentally we must discuss, recognize, and protect the basic rights of every individual.  By doing so we will be protecting our own rights as well.