Responsibility for Basic Human Rights

January 26th, 2010 by Robert McDowell

Too often we accept systems in place of human beings and common sense. Because I include an invoice in the body of an email instead of attaching it, Pearson International ignores the bill and misses paying me on time. Though almost every rational person on earth would agree that healthcare should be available and affordable for every citizen, we allow ourselves to be sidetracked by noise and misrepresentation. The Supreme Court jumps on the partisan bandwagon and reverses a law that restricted corporations from spending limitless amounts for or against candidates.

Winston Churchill said, after the battle at El Alamein,

“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

Our democracy may be at the end of its beginning, and what appears to be taking its place looks all too familiar from a historical perspective. More and more power is concentrated in the hands of the sheltered few. Politicians serve these select few, and despite what they say, have no sense of urgency in representing you and your concerns.

The system is disabled and will not fix itself. The only way human rights can make a sane stand is to embrace the example of Martin Luther King, Jr. Citizens must create the conditions they desire. Until people take to the streets—literally—and shut this system down, little or no progress will be made. If you doubt this, read history. What is happening to you now has happened to others before. You can change what’s coming, or you can be swept away by it.

The challenge is to balance spiritual practice with civic action. The spiritual practitioner’s civic impotence is a myth. By acting in civil defense of basic human rights—healthcare, meaningful work, education, opportunity to make a decent wage—you are operating from a persevering, grounded spiritual practice. Loving-kindness can be fierce, and that’s what’s called for now.

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