The sooner we start refusing to debate our humanity, the closer we will be to a just and equitable society. Now is the time to shift away from power and domination to forge a new way based on ethics and collective care.
The assumption that fundamental human rights are subject to culturally defined biases is flawed, it fails to recognise our shared humanity. It may even lead to the misconception that rights are subjective, as though certain conditions would preclude a human being from claiming their right to exist.
Assumptions are a fertile breeding ground for misinformation. A lack of empathy may lead people to make assumptions about other cultures based on ill-informed delusions of their own cultural superiority. The notion that human rights are up for debate is laughable, yet, the consequences of indulging this absurdity are devastating with far-reaching implications, especially for those who do not benefit from the privilege bestowed upon the dominant group.
Imagine for a moment that each of us is a sovereign human being. Our right to be here is intrinsic. This does not mean that our actions are without consequence. However, it does mean there is no reason for some of us to be denied our rights because of others’ belief systems.
In South Africa, we have a progressive bill of rights that adheres to internationally agreed-upon standards. Unfortunately, we also have a Constitution that protects itself and the very laws designed to enslave us by refusing to acknowledge our lives and dignity.
Apartheid was a crime against humanity yet we still have politicians in positions of power who refute this fact. This threatens the sanctity of our hard-won human rights by opening the floor for debate about whether or not we are deserving.
Because the law was written by blood-thirsty colonisers, apparently in an attempt to enrich themselves without retribution at the expense of people and the natural environment, this legacy continues to cripple us as learned criminals know the loopholes all too well. This existential threat is exacerbated by a reactionary population whose fear of the unknown causes them to compartmentalise their human spirit and, in so doing, demand solutions to an imagined problem that is, in fact, a symptom of a far greater crisis.
Culture is not static. It evolves and changes in response to the environment. Cultures crumble when principles are eroded by short-sighted ambition and individualistic material gains. Human rights are not given but rather claimed. Emancipation from mental slavery is indeed key to our liberation. Many of us continue labouring under patriarchal abuse unaware of our value and, as such, incapable of claiming our rights due to ignorance of their existence.
The mere fact that we are willing to entertain a debate about people’s humanity shows us how disconnected we are from our authentic selves and how dependent we are on external validation. This decimation of the human psyche has been deliberate. We have submitted ourselves to oppressive regimes by believing the lies we have been told about ourselves.
We have been led to believe that most of our material suffering is a consequence of so-called human nature and actions we have taken when in reality it is a consequence of capitalism and our abdication to it. We believe that poverty is a personal failing, that we attract abuse and degradation, rather than recognising the truth that we have been systematically robbed of our sovereignty thinking it was our choice.
By validating the idea that violence can be culturally sanctioned we are signing our death warrants. We build culture by mindfully choosing our words and our actions. We determine our trajectory, we are more than mere cogs with no choice but to maintain the status quo. We have been hoodwinked into thinking we bear no obligations in making our rights a reality.
Our failure to assume personal responsibility for our actions has rendered us powerless. We have unwittingly handed it over to institutions and the state. We have muddied the waters by granting personhood to entities with no hearts. People are not property, and the value we have assigned to things is based on an illusion that plays on our greed to justify our hateful actions in service of the machine.
We cannot, in all good conscience, assert that culture determines human rights knowing that language shapes culture. The English language, in particular, centres the individual and effectively objectifies the other. These false binaries have no place in our society and should certainly not determine how we are allowed to live.
It has been mathematically proven that we are strands in a complex web of life. If nothing else, this is evidence of our inherent value unconstrained by cultural expectations.
It is time to reject any ideology that disconnects us from our shared humanity. While our personal experiences may be subjective, our right to be human is universal.