The certainty of personal identity and alas, bigotry.
The Universe
began with a Big Bang some 12,000,000,000 years ago. Half way along this created timeline
our Solar System began to form out of the turbulence of the expanding gases. The first fossilised
evidence of life exists from way back 600 million years ago. It was not until 1 million
years before I write this that man first stood on the earth. Slowly he
differentiated himself from the other creatures and began to conquer his surroundings.
Written records of our civilisation are no more than a minute 6,000 years old and
technology developed only just over a century ago and now appears to progress almost out of control. How
small we are, but oh how important we feel. How possessive are we also of a small plot of
ground on which we have left our footprint. We grasp fiercely our culture, our habits, our
laws, our language, our appearance, our religion, our wealth and our perceived identity.
Xenophobia - a definition
Fear (phobia) of strangers (xeno-) and of the unknown. Both racism and homophobia are sometimes reduced to xenophobia. Dislike of foreigners. Often a dislike of representatives of a particular nation. The word Xenophobic is often used as a political insult against Racists, Isolationists, and Nationalists. All these things are strange concepts as it is said that it only takes the link of six people for us to be connected with every person on Earth. Six degrees of separation makes us all related in some way. I sometimes think this is an exaggeration because I do read a lot and know a little about the lives of the famous at least and it is so easy to find a step of often no more than three or four for me to connect to almost any writer, artist, composer, politician, actor or royal that I care to think about. No one is a stranger. They are all the friend of a friend or have at least met.
There are two main definitions of racism today. One of them states that racism is discrimination based on alleged race, the other - newer - one states that racism ought also to include discrimination based on religion or culture.
The word homophobia is a neologism coined by psychologist George Weinberg in his book Society and the Healthy Homosexual in 1972. It can be broken down into the Greek words 'homo' meaning "the same" and 'phobia' which means "fear". A precursor was homoerotophobia, coined by Dr Wainwright Churchill in Homosexual Behaviour Among Males in 1967
|
I wonder why it makes a difference if we are just out of the egg or close to returning to a box. I wonder why it makes any difference if we are green, purple or blue. I wonder why it makes a difference if we cast a large shadow or not. I wonder why it makes a difference if we have in or out genitals. I wonder why it makes a difference if we don't use or enjoy our body in the same way as the next person. I wonder why it makes a difference if we have more or less objects than the next person. I wonder why it makes a difference if we stand on this piece of ground or another. I wonder why it makes a difference the way we try to understand the mysteries of life and the direction we face when approaching the unknowable. Perhaps one day it will make no difference. Perhaps one day individuality will not depend on such things which are often beyond our control. |
 |
 Sadly there are those who are certain of their worth and righteousness and believe without doubt that they are the sons of light and have god and his angels on their side. While so full of that confidence many may also believe that all who disagree with them lack enlightenment and will or should be cast down. |
 |
So what is this page about? What is the great cause of war, of violence, of bigotry, of selfishness, of persecution, of fear and mistrust. It is our differences. Most people seem to love what is familiar and query what is not. However, it is our differences that add to our individuality. But what are the differences that matter. What we can not control we can take no credit for and what others can not control deserves no blame. I hope that it is what we do, what and how we think, what we say and how we behave to each other that defines our individuality. As Christ once said 'it is not what goes into one's mouth, but what comes out that defiles a man'. I accept that our soul or mind is bent some times by the impact of others or the whims of nature, but a true human has the choice to either let this affect them permanently or else resolve, accept and maintain dignity. Memory is good and essential, but only if we use it for our benefit. If we use it to maintain bitterness we create a prison for ourselves. Such things are personal.
'We
were slaughtered in a Dirphian gully, and our graves,
near Euripos, were paid for by our nation,
Justice. For in confronting the cruel clouds of war,
we gave away our years of lovely youth.'
Simonides - poet 556 - 468 BC
Often the politics, the beliefs, the nations or the smaller groups to which we adhere, appear to dictate an obligation to feel superior, or at least preciously different. Once I disliked being a Queenslander as opposed to feeling part of Australia as a whole. Now I feel like a member of the human race. If one day someone tells me of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe I hope that I can feel part of that as well. Life is precious and must be respected. Individuality is precious and must be respected. Nothing progresses unless differences abound, but it is our similarities that should bind us eternally. I don't want to wave a flag, I don't want to believe that being a Catholic is better, I don't want to feel that being white or male or tall or old or from Brisbane is better. It is unimportant for it just is. Who knows if the way I vote is better? Who knows what music is better, or what art, or which writer. Is my dog better then yours? Is my web site better then yours? Who cares. All that is, is. Certainly we think and try to improve what is unkind, unjust or even unattractive. This is part of natural selection. Certainly we want to make a mark, to succeed and our ego needs respect, but not at the expense of someone else.
All the cultures of the world are available to us. Some people move cities, some move countries, some change religions, what was young soon becomes old and some even change their sex. Does it really matter that I was born in one particular place? Does it matter that I apparently belong to a certain race? What is that race? We all came from common ancestors, spread across the globe, were affected by the environment and adapted our appearance, our language and developed beliefs. Often the time we live in is also an element of our perceived superiority. In thousands of years to come what will a country, a colour, a party, or even a belief mean? Many countries have gone and many are redrawn. Empires have risen and fallen, and today the same smug mistakes are made. Is any church or ceremony exactly the same today as centuries ago? Did the party you voted for exist in the time of your parents? Some even fear intermarriage as if they are diluting the purity of a culture. Cultures change. All changes, because it is our nature. I hope that it is progress.
Fear, jealousy and hatred are the hell of our mind.
Another piece I thought about one day
Perhaps I am as much a hypocrite as the next man. Perhaps I do not practice what I preach. Perhaps another crisis is looming ominously inside my ego. Today we recognise a racist bigot, a religious bigot or a sexist bigot and any 'understanding' person abhors such things. We will become aggressively intolerant of ignorance. So defined are our opinions that while advocating equality and tolerance we can slide so often into loud antagonism towards any deviations from our 'informed' opinions. Sometimes subtly, sometimes confidently we espouse what should be and what others should be and what they may do. Personal preference and taste is a subjective element of our makeup drawn from our past and modified by what surrounds us. Each of us is individual and none stand in the same place at the same time, but we assume to know what is correct for others and what others deserve. Today we are replacing many old prejudices with others. The body is the laziest choice for such discrimination.
"He is too old." - "He is too fat." - "He is too bald." - "He is too skinny." - "He is too ugly."
Such statements are usually made about others or the choice of others. What I have learned is that a friend may find someone or something attractive and immediately we choose to state if we agree or not. What we forget is that it is their choice and not our own. Who cares if I fancy my friends choice of partner. It is their partner and not meant to be mine. Do the older, the fatter, the skinnier, the uglier have no right to be selected. Older than whom? Fatter than whom ? etc. Compare it to the universe and such miniscule differences in time or mass are beyond insignificant.
We all deserve to be able to love and be loved, to have sex, to have companionship. If the body is able to climb a mountain and does so, we present praise, if the body is able to have sex and does so we praise only the perfect and ridicule or even persecute those we consider unworthy.
In 1976 I went
through a period of confusion and depression and needed to talk to someone so sitting at
home, a little drunk one evening, I decided to go to the top and so I wrote a letter to
the Pope (Paul VI). Within ten days I received the following reply. Text below.
From the Vatican 3 April 1976
The Holy Father has directed me to acknowledge the letter which you kindly wrote to him.
His Holiness appreciates the devoted sentiments with which you addressed to him a request for his prayers. While a sense of unworthiness is indeed an essential attitude in the Christian life, nevertheless the Holy Father would remind you of Saint Paul's words in speaking of God's grace. "If it is certain that death reigned over everyone as the consequence of one man's fall, it is even more certain that one man, Jesus Christ, will cause everyone to reign in life who receives the free gift that he does not deserve, of being made righteous" (Rom 5:17). Praying that you may ever grow in the love of Christ, His Holiness paternally imparts to you his Apostolic Blessing.
I have pleasure in sending you a rosary which the Holy Father has blessed and which will be a reminder to you of his prayerful support.
With every good wish, I remain
Yours sincerely
Mgr. G. Coppa
A declaration adopted without dissent and much quoted, but seldom read and selectively ignored by all governments and nations.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
PREAMBLE
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in cooperation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,
Now,
therefore,
The General Assembly
proclaims
This Universal Declaration of Human Rights
as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.
Article I
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
Article 4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
Article 5
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 6
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
Article 7
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
Article 8
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
Article 9
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
Article 10
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
Article 11
(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.
Article 12
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
Article 13
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State.
(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.
Article 14
(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 15
(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.
Article 16
(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
Article 17
(1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
Article 20
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
Article 21
(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
(2) Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in his country.
(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.
Article 22
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.
Article 23
(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
Article 24
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
Article 25
(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.
Article 26
(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
Article 27
(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.
Article 28
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
Article 29
(1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 30
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.
Adopted
on December 10, 1948
by the General Assembly of the United Nations (without dissent)
'Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it' The Buddha
Oscar Wilde.
A map of the world that does not include Utopia is not even worth glancing at, for it leaves out one country at which humanity is always landing. And when humanity lands there, it looks out, and seeing a better country, sets sail. -
Yoko Ono 'Mirror Piece - spring 1964'
Instead of obtaining a mirror,
obtain a person.
Look into him.
Use different people.
Old, young, fat, small etc.
David's Song of Brotherly Unity
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
as the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion:
For there the Lord commanded the blessing,
even life for evermore.
The greatest danger of xenophobia is igniting our own destruction.
Updated
January 23, 2007
