Sunday, September 30, 2007

False Dignity

There is an obvious reason why human rights struggles across the world are increasingly seen as life and death struggles – because people increasingly see rights as being the substance of life. Modern man now largely believes that there is nothing in him or inherently good about him and so he stakes his very existence on guarantees by the state with regard to his personal freedoms. If any of these freedoms or entitlements is placed in jeopardy modern man literally will feel like he is on the verge of death because he has been taught that without such rights he has nothing to justify his existence. This is why they so fanatically protest and fight – for they have staked their lives upon scraps of paper and the promises of NGOs. This is not dignity, nor is it any way to live, and if true dignity – the dignity inherent within us all – is not realized than nothing can serve as a substitute. In order for the wellbeing of humankind to be upheld than dignity must be understood and upheld.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

The Message of Universalism

It must be our message to every human being through our education system and indeed, through all communicative channels and institutions: Apply your talents, and thereby realize your purpose; work toward and achieve your potential in light of your purpose and you will make a positive impact in society and in this world. Learned skills and acquired knowledge ultimately serve as confirmation of the potential within you as a human being; never neglect to find meaning in that fact and never fail to draw upon the power within you in cooperation with others of your kind. You are human and never cease to be proud of your natural essence as a purposeful being on this planet. Within us all the human spirit burns bright; accept and uphold what you are and advance toward your destiny, for we are all together and the human form is universal in its unity and diversity. When we combine our strengths we are unstoppable. In the spirit of solidarity and fulfillment take your place amongst us in human society with undying dignity.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

A Rite of Passage into Adulthood and Citizenship

We enter this world possessing only the raw humanity we are born with, with no idea as to our potential or the dignity within us. Nature provides a strong backbone to the human character, both individual and collective, but it cannot alone lead us to fulfillment. In a sense we are born with our spirits in a state of slumber and it is only through realization and fulfillment that we can fully awaken our inner strength. Thus, children and adults who have not realized their purpose are all too vulnerable to the corruption that alienation represents. Without the training required to allow for the refined expression and the dignified perfection of our human abilities we cannot develop our potential and stand at the mercy of degradation and alienation.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Dignified Economic Development

Does economic development entail alienation? The Industrial Revolution displaced countless millions of people from the countryside and the communal life of the village, driving them into the dark anonymity of the factory or the mine. The tightly knit village community was replaced by the anonymous environment of the vast industrial city: where loneliness often was the status quo. Development, as it occurred then, and continues to occur to this day in the developing world, tears human beings apart and breeds alienation to an incredible degree in human affairs.
Craftsmen who took pride in their work simply could not compete with the legions of uncaring workers doing piece work on a vast scale in the factories. Pride and fulfillment replaced with alienation.
In order to build a society of solidarity, and an economy of dignity, we must build strong ties and relationships between human beings. A strong sense of togetherness is crucial for an effective society. Human beings are social beings and we must be together, work together, and support one another if we are to achieve our true potential as individuals, as a society, and as a species.
All must find fulfillment in the role that they play in society, and thus strive for perfection in their role; aware of its importance, not only to themselves, but to society, and to humanity as a whole. That is the source of real economic development and it can only come from the development of human potential. Human beings must understand that our individual purposes interlock to form one great human purpose that embraces our entire species. We must stand together against the scourge of alienation. United we win, and when humanity stands unified dignity shall prevail in this world.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

The Need for Strength

I have experienced it time and time again. The feeling of powerlessness and weakness in the face of the pressures that are heaped upon me from so many people, places, and things is like a vice that closes in on you. That alienating feeling is the source of nightmares and something that we all seek to avoid at all costs. We need to feel that we have control over our lives and destinies. The feeling of strength and security is something that we all desire and in many ways cannot live without. It is impossible to draw fulfillment out of life without a sense of strength drawn from a clear purpose and importance. However, in our desperation for this reassuring feeling we all too often end up preying on others of our own kind.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Virtue over Rights

From a rational point of view, human rights and liberal morality that they derive themselves from can only be considered hypocritical and wrong; tools of the powerful that are utilized to mislead the masses.
No form of political morality can be considered valid unless it allows for the effective governance and leadership of the political community and facilitates human wellbeing on a societal scale. If it fails to do this it invites hypocrisy; for you cannot run a political community based on guaranteed individual rights, ethnic self-determination, state neutrality, and similar liberal values, for the state would fragment as a result. Thus the politician is obliged to profess his support for prevailing liberal attitudes while attempting to express real leadership out of the public eye through decisive and effective actions in order to preserve the power and unity of the political community. Liberalism thus forces hypocrisy upon the political elite, and many a hollow election promise was born of this unworkable situation.

Sunday, August 5, 2007

The Demand for Austerity in the Twenty-First Century

The overindulgence of luxury goods and the amount of useless excess that is consumed in the West is deplorable in itself, but it can only be seen as utterly parasitical given the fact that the money spent so carelessly on luxuries could not only save lives but practically eliminate global poverty and needless deaths due to preventable disease. This situation indicates and utterly irresponsible society and it is clear that measures of austerity must be adopted if dignity is to prevail in this world.