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The old / Human Rights / page on this site,
which the current page replaces
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On Animal Rights
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Artificial Intelligence, 'Bots, Artificial Life
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The Bill of Rights
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Civil Society
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Constitutional Government and the Rule of Law
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The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
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Diversity, Tolerance, and Pluralism
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Dominionism
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The Fist
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Four Freedoms
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Freedom of Religion
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Thomas Hobbes
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Human Rights and Civil Rights (Page 2)
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(Page 3)
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(Page 4)
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(Page 5)
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(Page 6)
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(Page 7)
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(Page 8)
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(Page 9)
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(Page 10)
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On Liberal Religion
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Liberalism
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Privacy, Secrecy, Surveillance
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Property
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The Right to Keep and Bear Arms
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Speech Free and Otherwise / Censorship, Media, and the Press
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Thymos, Dignity, and Self-Esteem
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"Our civil rights and civil liberties -- freedom of expression, the right to criticize the government, equality before the law, restraints on the exercise of police powers -- are not gifts from the state that can be rescinded when it desires."
The Most Patriotic Act
by Eric Foner
The Nation 8 OCT 2001
Our civil rights and civil
liberties may not be rescinded.
They may be disregarded, but not denied.
John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton
The History of Freedom in Antiquity
John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton - Wikiquote
"Every individual has dignity. The principles of human rights were drawn up by human beings as a way of ensuring that the dignity of everyone is properly and equally respected, that is, to ensure that a human being will be able to fully develop and use human qualities such as intelligence, talent and conscience and satisfy his or her spiritual and other needs. Dignity gives an individual a sense of value and worth. The existence of human rights demonstrates that human beings are aware of each other's worth. Human dignity is not an individual, exclusive and isolated sense. It is a part of our common humanity. Human rights enable us to respect each other and live with each other. In other words, they are not only rights to be requested or demanded but rights to be respected and be responsible for. The rights that apply to you also apply to others. The denial of human rights and fundamental freedoms not only is an individual and personal tragedy, but also creates conditions of social and political unrest, sowing the seeds of violence and conflict within and between societies and nations."
from Understanding Human Rights
The Simple English Version -- I think I might even like this better
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"It is a truism that civil liberties have suffered in most of America's wars. But in all of those earlier episodes there was a certainty that the conflict would end someday. A peace treaty would be signed, or the enemy country would either surrender or be conquered. In other words, America would someday return to normal and civil liberties would be restored and repaired.-- Emphasis mine -- ed.
The war against terrorism is different. ...
In short, America is now waging a permanent war. That reality makes civil liberties considerations even more important than in previous conflicts. Whatever constitutional rights are taken from us (or that we choose to relinquish) will not be restored after a few years. In all likelihood, they will be gone forever."
"Rights regarded as belonging to all persons by virtue of their being human beings."
page 647
(Patrick Malcolmson)
Human Rights
"A body of principles acknowledged by governments as inherent rights of individuals deserving of international promotion and protection."
page 445
(Robert Gorman)
Civil Liberties
"Inalienable, personal, and natural rights that governments do not confer and cannot abridge."
"Traditionally, civil liberties have included freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, free speech, free press, privacy rights, the right to be secure in ones' property, freedom of association, the right to due process, and equal protection of the law."
page 195
(Stephen Rohde)
Civil Rights
"Claims to protections that are guaranteed by government; in the United States, the term is taken to mean claims for equal treatment by members of minority groups."
page 199
(Bette Evans)
"Human Rights Watch said the global economy had yielded undeniable wealth, opportunities, and jobs. But street protests over the past year in Seattle, Prague, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere reflect widespread popular concern over associated ills, such as an increase in the number of people living in poverty and the abuse of migrant workers.
In the polarized debate over globalization, human rights offer an important and promising framework to address many problems, such as the tendency of some governments and corporations to compete by profiting from repression. Within the workplace, respect for freedom of association should allow workers to join together - in trade unions should they choose - to improve wages and working conditions. Similarly, the prohibition against discrimination should be used to help ensure that historically marginalized people enjoy the fruits of their labor on the same terms as others.
On a societal level, respect for civil and political rights, including the right to elect one's government, should enable the disadvantaged to have a voice in the direction of their country's social and economic development, including on such matters as increasing the minimum wage, protecting union activists from retaliation, enforcing prohibitions on discrimination, regulating extraction industries, or ensuring that investments are made with social values in mind. "
" Many people are aware of telephone wiretapping. But few have heard of Realtime Residential Power Line Surveillance (RRPLS). U.S. drug enforcement officials have used a primitive form of RRPLS for years, acquiring billing records from electric companies to find people who are using high-powered lights to grow marijuana. Now devices called "smart meters" are boosting the data-gathering power. Early forms of RRPLS only took power readings. Smart meters are far more nosy. They can record which electrical appliances an occupant uses, and when. ... The greatest danger of widespread RRPLS is an invisible one, that utility companies will gradually degrade our expectations of privacy. Americans have an appalling tendency to allow inalienable Human Rights to be monetarized into transferable Corporate Property Rights. Utility companies can "buy off" the uninformed people by offering surveillance subsidies -- discounts or rebates to those who allow the sale of their private data. These personal surveillance contracts will be advertised as "new improved services". But for a utility to obtain the genuinely "informed consent" of its customers would require an expensive campaign to educate people about the social consequences of this Panoptic surveillance. Given the inherent conflict of interest, it is clear that once again, the consent of the technological consumer will be manufactured, rather than informed."
Take a look --
probably nothing here you haven't seen already,
but fascinating and chilling to see it stated so neatly.
"Liberals believe that rights are social constructs, defended by force and open to change and improvement. Rights cannot be natural, like laws of nature, because nature enforces its laws absolutely, whereas rights are frequently broken. Rights cannot be inalienable, because governments frequently revoke rights. They cannot be God-given, because God originally blessed the rights of monarchy, genocide, polygamy, parental killing of disrespectful children, and other rights no one seriously defends today. Rights cannot be self-evident, because philosophers have been vigorously arguing over them for thousands of years."
"There is no inverse relationship between freedom and security. Less of one does not lead to more of the other. People with no rights are not safe from terrorist attack."
"Civil libertarians who want to preserve civil liberties in this time of crisis would do well to start by asking ordinary citizens what liberties they most want protected. I would venture to guess the answers would be:
They want the right to keep their property and earnings. Maybe a Constitutional amendment placing an absolute limit on total taxes is due. How about an absolute ban on unfunded mandates; the government body that mandates some measure picks up the whole tab?
They want minimal interference from government regulation. Maybe we could have a Constitutional amendment placing broad areas of activity off limits to regulation of any kind.
They want to be safe from the predations of sociopathic individuals. (And institutions?) "