I was born in a momentous era. World War II had ended and the world was picking up the pieces of destruction and tragedy in 1948. In spite of the horrors that humans had inflicted on each other there was a sense of hope that somehow we might work together to forge a kind of permanent peace. The United Nations was a fledgling group when I was born toward the end of 1948, but it’s existence was founded on the hope that somehow we humans would find ways to honor our common humanity peacefully rather than with anger and weapons.
In that hour of vivid remembrance of man’s inhumanity to man Eleanor Roosevelt became the representative of the United States tasked with creating a document outlining the universal human rights of all people everywhere. It was a fitting assignment for a woman who had been an advocate for people for all of her life. In many ways she had been the conscience of our nation during her husband’s tenure as President of the United States. She had pushed him to invite Marian Anderson, a black woman, to the White House. She had in many ways become the mother of our country during the dark days of war. My own mother often related how hearing Mrs. Roosevelt’s voice on the radio had soothed her fears. She spoke of Eleanor with awe and tears forming in her eyes.
It took two years to agree to a massive document that would become the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was revealed and ratified on December 10, 1948. While it did not have the force of law, it did indeed create a plan for living together on this earth in peace and harmony. It declared that “[a]ll human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights…without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status” and regardless “of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs.”
It clearly outlined the freedoms that every person on the earth should be able to enjoy including the freedom to make choices about how to live. It noted that we humans are all alike, all equal and that we should treat each other with respect and honor the diversity of our humanity. It was perhaps an idealistic declaration, but so too was our own nation’s Declaration of Independence and Constitution. It is much like the Ten Commandments or the parables of Jesus. It is a guide for living with each other without judgement or rancor. It urges all people and all nations to see each other without prejudices. It is a remarkable commitment to doing our best to get along on a very human level.
Of course as we have moved forward during the last seventy six years our human frailties have all too often prevented us from accepting and loving each other in the ways that would truly make us united in our respect for our differences. The goodness of our humanity outlined in the document is challenged again and again by our darkest tendencies. We continue to struggle with the very evils that have prompted wars between ourselves throughout history. We know how we should be, but our fears and jealousies so often lead us to the kind of unintelligent beliefs that somehow there are indeed good better and best versions of human beings that should dominate the weaker kind that we never quite understand. Greed and hate are as human as the kind of goodness that Eleanor Roosevelt and her committee hoped to entrench in the world.
If we think about the people that we know from all over the world we find ourselves agreeing that over and over again humans have managed to fight our evil natures with scores of good people. We may have once allowed slavery but honorable folk fought to end such a dastardly practice. When a nation imprisoned and murdered innocents it was a united effort by mostly kind heroes who toppled the regime that did such things. Somehow we find ourselves fighting for what is right and just over and over again whether it be with passive resistance or on a battlefield.
I grew up under the influence of my mother who was a woman who unconditionally loved people. She made Eleanor Roosevelt one of my role models. She spoke often of being generous and compassionate with my fellow humans. She chided me not to judge people by any superficial measures but by their hearts. She saw the person begging on a corner as equal to the wealthy man living in a mansion. She urged me not to be impressed by false signs of success. I suppose that she wrote her own version of a declaration of human rights for me to follow. Her hope for me set a high bar that I sometimes fail to meet much like the world at large.
We would all do well to read the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and ask ourselves how we are doing in meeting its concepts. I suspect that we will each have to admit that we still have work to do with ourselves and our willingness to see the beauty of humanity in all of its many versions. Somehow I believe that we have the capacity to do better if only we try. Surely we know deep down inside that the world is a better place when we honor each other and focus on turning our backs on any efforts or persons that suggest that we should hurt anyone among us. In this Christmas season I can’t think of anything more wonderful to do with our lives.
All It Takes Is A Little Love 