64. Human Rights

Fifty years ago today a call came out from our newly inaugurated president:  "ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country".  That statement has been re-iterated in various ways throughout the years and by various administrations, but the meaning is basically the same.

Consider also a Christian idea:  We are all parts of the same Body, each with our own gifts and inclinations.  We all have a role to play in bringing about the Kingdom of God.

Another rather famous part of that speech 50 years ago was:

"Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans--born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage--and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world."

Consider another Christian idea:  What you do to the least of my brothers, you do to me. ~ Jesus


In the USA we believe that the basic rights every human being has are God-given, not given at the whim of a human ruler. They are inalienable, not able to be taken away.  And we have an expectation that the rest of the world should have that same respect for basic human rights. It's interesting that on the same day as the anniversary of JFK's inaugural address, the issue of human rights has been in the news surrounding the visit of the Chinese president.



The more I learn about conservation and sustainability, the more I discover the complexity of environmental issues, and how an activity in one part of the world reverberates in unintended ways in another part.  Overuse of resources because of greed usually affects those the most who can least afford to adapt.  It is the poorest and the weakest who stand to lose the most from environmental degradation.  It is people like us who will be most able to adapt to whatever ill effects may result from lack of resource stewardship, at least for awhile. It truly becomes a human rights matter when we see the whole picture. And it is getting harder and harder to ignore that big picture, as technology brings the world to us more and more easily.

Conservation is not just about keeping the planet pretty.  It's also about preserving natural resources for humans now, and in the future.   Figuring out how best to do that requires understanding the complexities of natural cycles, economic processes here and abroad, and cultural factors.  It's about, for example, how conventional agricultural techniques here, can affect the economy of a much less developed nation that we trade with, for better or for worse.  It really can be very complicated, as local farmers have to compete with the cheaper foods that we can sell their country, because of our subsidized system.  Not that I understand it completely, but it certainly isn't as simple as I used to think.  Or, maybe a country that we trade with doesn't have as strict environmental regulations as we do, and we have to monitor what comes into our country from theirs.  None of us on this planet exists in a vacuum.  A good description is a web, where one touch causes the whole web to vibrate.  

Getting back to what we can do for our country - the list of course is endless, and obviously depends on our individual gifts and inclinations.  From the point of view of environmental stewardship, though, I can think of a few ideas:

Taking care of what we all have in common: our air, our water, our land, our wildlife.  We all depend on them for survival.  Even the tiny bee, can make a significant difference in our ability to thrive. (Think crop pollination.)


Supporting our national parks (a truly American idea), state parks, wildlife preserves and the like.



Thinking about the consequences of our lifestyles as they pertain to the use of resources, and the health of our shared environment.  Sometimes it's a balancing act.


None of us can do everything.  We can all do a little, and in this big nation, that can add up to a lot.  And the more we can do in the way of preventing problems, the less crisis intervention we, or someone else in the world may need later. The term "environmental refugees" is one that refers to a concern in such a crisis scenario.  

Human rights issues, then, are not too far from our own back doors, and I, for one, am of the opinion that what we do for our country, can create waves of benefit to other people around the world.  This is a truth that we can even less afford to ignore now, than we could in 1961.