In the past couple of years the subject of rights has exploded on the internet. With the rise of such websites as change.org and the incredible influence that social media has on the real world, people with opinions are coming together from all over the world to try to make a difference—which, I think is great, really, really great. Physical petitions of days past have been replaced with a click of a button, and you can gather followers from anywhere on the globe. It’s truly made us a small world.
You and I both have been asked to support various causes. March against this, walk for that, give us your email and we’ll send you newsletters about what we’re passionately for/against. But where do you stand? Do you support women’s rights; gay rights; abortion; the various wars on things the United States is so eager to declare?
Me, I support humanity.
There are many different definitions of human rights; there are even debates on what a right is, or whether rights even exist. My favourite take on human rights as a whole is from the mouth of George Carlin. Sure, he was a cynic and a misanthropist—and I don’t agree with every single word of the following quotation—but when you listen, really listen to him, he had a brilliant outlook on life that is still relevant today, will be relevant for generations to come, and he could deliver it in an entertaining way.
“… There's no such thing as rights. They're imaginary. We made 'em up. Rights are an idea. They're just imaginary. But if you think you do have rights, let me ask you this, where do they come from? People say, 'they come from god. They're god given rights.' Awww fuck, here we go again...here we go again.
“The god excuse. The last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument, 'It came from god'. Anything we can't describe must have come from god. Personally folks, if your rights came from god, he would've given you the right for some food everyday, and he would've given you the right to a roof over your head.
“But let's say it's true. Let's say that god gave us these rights. Why would he give us a certain number of rights? The Bill of Rights of this country (USA) has 10 stipulations. Okay, 10 rights. And apparently god was doing sloppy work that week because we've had to amend the bill of rights an additional 17 times. So god forgot a couple of things like slavery. Just fuckin' slipped his mind.
“But let's say, god gave us the original 10. He gave the British 13. The British bill of rights has 13 stipulations. The Germans have 29, the Belgians have 25, the Swedish have only 6, and some people in the world have NO RIGHTS AT ALL. What type of a fuckin' god damn god given deal is that? NO RIGHTS AT ALL? Why would god give different people in different countries a different number of rights? Boredom? Amusement? Bad arithmetic? Doesn't seem like divine planning to me. Sounds more like human planning. Sounds more like one group trying to control another group. In other words, business as usual in America.
“Now, if you think you do have rights, in Wikipedia, search for 'Japanese-Americans 1942'. You will find out all about your precious fucking rights.
“In 1942, there were 110,000 Japanese-American citizens, in good standing, law abiding people, who were thrown into internment camps simply because their parents were born in the wrong country. That's all they did wrong. They had no right to a lawyer, no right to a fair trial, no right to due process of any kind.
“Just when these American citizens needed their rights most, the government took them away. And rights aren't rights if someone can take them away. They're privileges. That's all we've ever had in this country, a bill of TEMPORARY privileges. And if you read the news, even badly, you will know the list gets shorter, and shorter and shorter.
“Sooner or later, the people in this country are going to realize the government doesn't give a fuck about them. The government doesn't care about you, or your children, or your rights, or your welfare or your safety. It simply doesn't give a fuck about you. It's interested in its own power. That's the only thing. Keeping it, and expanding it wherever possible.
Personally, when it comes to rights, I think one of two things is true: either we have unlimited rights or we have no rights at all.”
Brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant.
I am a humanist.
I support people doing what they damn well want to do with their lives and their bodies and their voices. I wish that everyone in the world had access to basic needs to function and live; it’s terribly heart-breaking for me to even think about those even in my back yard without food, shelter, water.
Not everyone has the right to stand up for themselves, say what they want to say, or do what they want to do. And if you do, if you live in a place where you are free to live your life, fucking be happy about it!
I support people being happy.
It means that I believe people can do whatever the shit they want with their genitals and still go through the labours of marriage; I believe that women can choose whether or not they want to bring another life into the world (there are plenty of us already, don’t you think?); I believe that every man and woman and child deserves respect, because we were all born human and absolutely no one is better than anyone else; I truly think that people can march against whatever causes they want, because it’s a beautiful thing when we as humans stand together to try and make a change, whatever that change is.
I’ve done enough thinking for one day.
I leave you with this completely unrelated piece of advice for the hot summer we’re all enduring:
A few cups of water from a tap in your house costs a fraction of a cent. A bowl you never use is lying around in your cupboards somewhere. If you have the means, if you live in a place where you have a yard or your neighbour has a yard, take that bowl and fill it with fresh water and leave it outside. Keep it fresh, keep it cool, and keep it accessible. Animals cannot go to a tap and pour themselves a glass of water when it’s damnably hot outside.
Who knows, maybe you’ll save a life or two.
