NO THIRD
WORLD
HUMAN RIGHTS
TRANSCEND BOUNDARIES & BORDERS
BLOG ACTION
DAY 2013
THERE SHOULD
BE NO "THIRD WORLD"
WE ALL SHARE "ONE
WORLD"
(Thursday October 17, 2013 New
York, NY) The stone and glass monolith
of the United Nations building sits on the East Side of Manhattan on 1st
Avenue. From the front the colorful
flags of all the member states are on display as they flutter in the wind that is accelerated by the
curvature of the façade. Each flag
represents a sovereignty; a nation/state that by virtue of their membership
espouses to hold as valued certain principals of international governance as well
as proclaiming commitment to peaceful relations with their geopolitical
neighbors and the wider world. It
appears that the primary duty of the UN over the course of the last 30 years
has been in monitoring regional conflicts, providing “peace keeping troops” to
hot spots that may not yet even have a modicum of peace to keep and enforcing
the plethora of treaties, agreements, resolutions and détentes they produce and
police. In our troubled world today the
UN does have a role but that role is in constant jeopardy of being delegitimized
since their primary focus is seen as that of a global military force; often an
unwelcome interloper into civil internal disputes.
There are many who call for
the abolishment of the United Nations.
Clearly there is a growing majority of conservative right wing politicians, analysts and pundits in the United States who view the UN with disdain
and derision. Isolationists are seeing a resurgence
after over 12 years of armed conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as an ongoing
“drone war” in the battle against global terrorism. Many Republicans in the United States
Congress are of a mind that America pays far more than our “fair share” of
membership dues and would like to see the UN moved out of NYC,out of the US, if not totally
disbanded. Certainly the City of New
York has its budget strained by being host to the UN itself as well as all the member
states embassies and consulates throughout the City. But the reality is that the UN will remain
where it is and will continue to endeavor to be a resource in a world replete with strife and hardship of
every kind.
The United Nations often
extolls the virtues of “human rights”.
In their practical application of that term they are usually referring to
the noble but not yet fully realized ideal that all people should be able to
live free of the yoke of oppressive corrupt regimes. They trumpet human rights as being exemplified
by the absence of raging religious, ethnic, tribal, regional bloody
conflicts. The UN likes to look at the
world as a relatively easy jigsaw puzzle to assemble and this in and of itself
is a reflection of their naivety. Many
of the most intractable, brutal troubled lands on Earth today are embroiled in
the savagery of warfare literally centuries in the making. The examples are plentiful and the fact that
such profound hatred exists among mortal enemies in 2013 is a testament to the
depths of hatred, intolerance, and bloodlust.
But today, on this Blog Action
Day 2013, we are looking at the matter of human rights from another
perspective. We see the matter in a far
more humanistic if not existential spectrum.
The humans in human rights are people, people just as we are; people who
share common aspirations for their families and children. The world’s population is growing at an
exponential rate and in this headlong race to whatever future we may see, many
humans are being left behind. Today, and maybe just for
today, we should consider human rights on a level we may not typically
consider.
Perhaps we can shed some
illumination on the matter if we’ll suspend the use of a term that is at best
dismissive, at worst, degrading. Referring
to any of our global neighbors as existing in “The Third World” is
counterproductive and arrogant. We have
but one world, we live on one planet and we share a common evolutionary history. For a host of reasons some nation/states have
not developed as rapidly as others. But
that is an important discussion for another day. Today we turn our gaze to our human brothers
and sisters, our cousins and relatives populating locations we may not even be
able to locate on a world map. Theirs is
not the “Third World” but rather vast and remote places of our World, our One
World.
Since the dawn of civilization
there has been an enormous amount of bloodshed in the name of a God, greed,
resources and supremacy. Such conflict
seems to be embedded like the mitochondria in our cells. These very same reasons animate the hostility
we see today. But the cessation of these
conflicts and blood shed will not be settled by a UN decree. No; not by a long shot. What can help reduce some of the motivations
for conflict is marshaling all available resources to reduce the tension points
between and among people.
Resources, more specifically,
the access to natural resources such as clean water and crop sustaining land
should be the universal mission of any Human Rights initiatives. Impoverished people whose lives are consumed
by grinding poverty, poor health and nutrition are the most vulnerable to the
rallying cry of war especially when they are made to place blame for their
plight on another people, religion or ethnicity. One of the more bizarre facts to emerge in
recent years is that no two counties that have McDonalds franchises have ever
faced off militarily. What a dubious distinction of global import that a fast
food chain is a sign of “development" and a measurement of stability.
But it is not too hard to imagine if you think about it. The economic development that allows a nation
to have a thriving “middle class” does in fact attest to a certain amount of
internal stability. Take this axiom to
an even more fundamental level and societies that are able to provide more of
the essentials for their people have a decreased interest in unrest; yes, the
stability provided by the most basic of human rights pays a dividend in many
ways not the least of which is a sense of security.
The least stable central
governments are those most likely to rule with unforgiving iron fists and be
corrupt. It is for this reason that the
UN should focus far more on providing the means and methods for less developed
nations to advance out of the mire of hardscrabble existence. Here in 2013 the “developed” nations of the
world should feel and act on a sense of obligation to provide assistance that
will begin to ameliorate the plight of billions of our global relatives.
The United Nations, the World
Health Organization (WHO), the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) and many other governmental and non-government
organizations (NGOs) are involved in valiant efforts to address some of these
human rights matters often in countries where the ruling class divert resources
to their own bank accounts rather than allow the aid to be spent as
intended. There are hundreds of
thousands of refugees around the world fleeing their homes because of armed
conflict, ethnic cleansing – a metaphor for a truly barbaric evil practice –
and lack of access to the very basics needed for survival. In this sense embracing the notion that
developed nations must act on the imperative to assist those most ignored and in need is also
a definite step towards a less hostile world.
IT’S
A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL
Globalization. A word used so pervasively in discussions of
all types we seldom take a moment to consider its ramifications. Technological advancement in commerce and
communications, logistics, trade and economic connectedness has indeed made our
world smaller. The consequences of the
rapid growth of globalization are only beginning to be glimpsed today. We have seen just how interdependent we are
on each other as countries economically.
The prime mover of this global economy is free trade between partners as
well as open competitive markets in everything from natural resources such as
crude oil and ores, to agricultural products and consumer goods. That each country needs their partners has
become even starker in contrast to the recent economic crises that roiled
governments from Greece to Japan.
Americans have become
accustomed to being able to purchase goods at low prices. The reason we are able to is a direct result
of the trade agreements we share with China, South Korea and other nations
where cheap labor is plentiful. The
uninterrupted flow of goods from Asia to American seaports represents 97% of the
global trade market. What is so
disturbing about this growing trend is that Americans give little to no notice
to the “cheap labor” side of the imbalanced equation. Yes, during political debates candidates
deride “outsourcing” as the scourge of American industry and, in some ways,
theirs is a factual assertion. But,
American companies abide by one cardinal law of trade and that is profit
margins; how can we sell cheap imported goods with maximum profit? The answer to that question is found in the
sweatshops and ore mines of the Asian Subcontinent and Africa. Even America depends on our own steady stream of cheap labor in the form of
migrants working the fields in California and Midwest. To put a label to this far reaching practice
one would not be incorrect in calling it exploitation. Since in the eyes of American CEO’s and
corporate boards it is far less costly to import goods produced in countries
that are not saddled by what they view as the restrictive encumbrances of employee safety, OSHA regulations
or any labor laws for that matter, this form of exploitation will continue to
thrive.
Arguably it is incumbent upon
the United States and our departments of commerce and trade to serve as a
buffer between the sweat shop operators abroad and the companies here at home
making all the profits. Basic human
rights should extend to the workplace.
This would not be nearly as onerous as CEO’s might initially perceive. In the past six months we have witnessed
terrible loss of life in factories in India and Malaysia from deadly fires destroying
dilapidated factories without proper fire suppression and means of egress. In far too many countries men, women and children toil in deplorable conditions for a pitifully inadequate wage. The cheap cost of goods in the local Walmart
is made possible by this multitude of anonymous laborers, an alarming number of which are mere children, in countries that are so heavily reliant in the revenue of foreign
trade that the value of life is minimal.
Many of these employees are forced to live in horrendous housing devoid
of proper hygienic conditions including the absence of clean water and often they must pay their employer for "housing", for access to a bunk or cot in substandard ghetto-like living conditions.
WATER, WATER
The single most essential
element to life aside from the air we breathe is clean drinking water. Our planet is covered by oceans and seas,
lakes and rivers, streams and creeks overshadowing dry land masses by 75%. Most of the Earth’s water is salinized and
unsuitable for human consumption. Water
and access to it has been at the heart of many a bitter protracted battle since
time immemorial. The fact of the matter
is that all of us here on Earth, our One World, are approaching a water crisis
that could not have been imagined a generation ago. As a byproduct of the damage we have
inflicted on our home planet and its sensitive ecosystems by way of strip
mining, hydroelectric damming, deforestation, industrial pollution,
encroachment development and disastrously inept resource stewardship, our world
is fast approaching the tipping point as far as access to reliable, consistently
available potable water is concerned.
Ironically this topic is not amenable
to the classic arguments that pit the “Third World”, hence called the less
fortunate members of our One World. In the America Heartland and Plains water
is as tightly a contested resource as any other. As in so many other major agricultural nations
such as Brazil and Argentina the aquifers are dwindling as a result of the taxing
burden of mass agriculture and the invasive practices of other industries
unconcerned with the environment. The problem
is exacerbated in countries that are seeking to enter the realm of high production
in mineral extracts such as coal, iron ore and other sought after valuable
elements and grains, sugar, coffee and fruits by which they can gain entry into
the global commodities economy. As long
as corrupt regimes and multinational raiders rule the day human rights will forever
be lacking.
THINK
As members of the One World what we need to do is think about a strategy that
will lift those of our brothers and sisters in primitive conditions out of that
darkness and pain into the light of a more engaged human community. There is much too much at stake to leave the
status quo unchallenged. If there is to be
any merit to this annual Blog Action day it must result in some form of action;
words are powerful, deeds substantial.
Let us all look towards a day when we are truly recognized as One World,
One People sharing an increasingly smaller planet and recognize the
circumstances of our most in need are inextricably intertwined with the interests
of us all.
The Brooding Cynyx are proud to have
participated in
Blog Action Day 2013 and
We extend our thoughts and prayers to all of
those
Deprived of the most basic human rights and
look forward to the
Day we are truly one in a global society.
Copyright The Brooding Cynyx 2013 © All Rights Reserved
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