A Society based on Human Rights

Man has always had a basic desire to worship something. What that thing is, varies from person to person. Back in history, it was the Sun. Or the Moon. Or the Wind, Water, rocks, or animals. I wonder how many people died pointless deaths over the argument as to which of these was the “true” one.

Polytheism, or the belief in more than one god, was the standard set of beliefs for 10s of thousands of years. Rome itself was built upon these beliefs. Most households had a shrine to their personal god. This belief in being surrounded by many gods still exists in many places in the world.

Monotheism, or the belief that there is just one god, is a relatively “new” idea that arose in the Middle East just a few thousand years ago. For the current society, it is the dominant religious belief. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all believe in just one god. Theoretically, this means that they should all get along just fine, as they all have this as their core belief. After all, if there is only one god, then it must logically be the same god for all.

The Almighty Dollar

Then, alongside of religion, came the worship of money. This really is worship in the true sense of the world. What is done for money rivals that which is done for God, and perhaps even surpasses it in modern times.

Money is obviously a necessary factor. Without it, we wouldn’t be able to swap what we have in excess for things that we need and don’t have. There has always been barter, and there always will be. There is even evidence to suggest that writing was itself created to keep track of who owed what and to whom.

But the worship of money needs to come to an end.

We should start networking to make a difference.

We need to evolve into a culture based on a different stable datum.

How about Human Rights instead?

Human Rights numbers one and two, state: “We are all born free and equal” and “Don’t Discriminate”. This means that, if sincerely practiced, all forms of discrimination would cease to exist. Colour, ethnic background, or religious belief would just cease to be important if we were to truly believe this one idea.

If everyone were to take these as the new stable datums to start a new society, all inequality would be gone in a stroke. Mutual respect and human dignity would become the new normal. The new “currency”.

Only then might we be able to say that we were a civilised society.