The sacredness of our humanity

An opinion piece by Pat Lynch CEO of the NZ Catholic Education Office

The American Declaration of Independence was bold in proclaiming, amongst other things, that “all men are created equal”. It went on to say that such truths are self evident.

At this time in world history when rough financial roads are being experienced by large numbers of people, it behoves each of us to keep our eye on a moral vision which will enable the world’s nations to continue to pursue collaborative approaches with one another. To this end the deep wisdom of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an internationally accepted road map.

Late last year the world celebrated the 60th anniversary of its signing. It is of more than of passing interest that the overwhelming majority of countries have signed up to the Declaration.

When trouble, conflicts and disagreements occur it is so easy to fall into the trap of demonising those who are different from us or who disagree with us and then to start down the slippery slope of playing the blame game in an attempt to gain some moral superiority in a given situation.

The world will never be perfect. We have, however, to gratefully acknowledge that the world’s nations have agreed on the moral principles which are the basis of a global culture reflecting the fundamental equality of each individual.

The Declaration is the ideal the world has set itself to try to implement. It was not by chance that the drafters knew that their catalogue of rights would have to include words of limitation which reflect the reality of individual duties, morality, public order and general welfare.

In doing this they recognised that the full flowering of human rights for all the nations of the world is a work in progress. Even so, the Declaration is one of the highest expressions of human aspiration ever agreed upon internationally.

As times get tough and there is the temptation to pull up the drawbridge and retreat into isolationism, we would be better off looking at just why it is that respecting others, no matter how different they may be, is paramount for a culture of civility and peace to become embedded in the world.

Many religions provide motivation for their adherents to respect others via the injunctions of the Golden Rule. A simple fundamental motivation for believers and unbelievers alike is found in the essence of each person’s intrinsic being and uniqueness.

In other words their individual dignity. When individuals and States forget this fundamental reality they can easily pull back into their own identities and their group identity, to the detriment of others. The ‘them’ and ‘us’ syndrome quickly comes to the fore, and even good people often succumb to the toxic ‘them’ and ‘us’ game. This is where the ideals of the universal Declaration can slide out of view.

Fundamentally, people want meaning in their lives. You just have to reflect on what occurs at funerals when people speak about the deceased. Eulogies generally have to do with what sort of life the person led, not what they owned or possessed. Surely this says something about our deep human instincts which reflect what is fundamentally important to all of us.

In times of challenge, like now, it is good to reflect on what sort of society and world we want to evolve into. Without formulating a vision we are doomed to go around in circles.

NZ has signed up to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, and has built an international reputation for being a significant contributing international citizen, despite our size and isolation in the family of nations.

Through the art of dialogue and conversation we can seek to reach out to others both at home and abroad. Nobody has a monopoly on enlightenment and each of us can be enriched by being open to others and by being committed to working with them, if for no other than reason, they are human like us.