Human Rights

I don't believe in human rights. Hold your fire! What do I mean by that? Well the word I'm really focusing on is 'Rights'.

Our 'rights' state that one thing is true, because of another: We deserve shelter, water, food, clothes, etc., because... We were born.

Do you see the same cracks in this assumption that I do? We 'deserve' things because of... birth?

It makes sense to give a gold medal to a man who comes first place in a marathon against hundreds: he has worked hard, and the gold medal is our way of saying we recognize your work and reward your achievement. But it started with his choice to work hard and aim for a good position in that race.

Short Story: The Myth of Khu

Before time began, was Khu.

Khu said to part of himself, "Be other than myself," and it was so.

The second Khu was called the World. Khu walked on the World, and tested how spongy it felt under his feet. The World felt himself pressed down by Khu, and said, "Ow."

So the World thought to itself, "Khu walks all over me, as if I am dirt! Well, I suppose I am dirt, but that's not the point... I will change myself, so that part of me Khu can walk upon, and this will be called Ground. But the other part of me, Khu will not be able to walk upon- instead, he will sink, and be submerged so that I will be over him. This will be called Water."

And so it was that the world was divided into Ground that seeks to help, and Water that seeks to dominate.

Maturity and Dependance

Say the world understands 2 states: Immature and Mature. The aim (in most cultures, I wonder about ours at the moment) is to move from Immature, which we are born into, to Mature. Our aim is to grow mentally and emotionally, just as we naturally grow physically.

A lot of the world seems to assume that these 2 labels are parallel to 2 others that we naturally go through- Dependant, and Independant. This view says that being Dependant is child-like, inferior, and Immature. But when I become Independant, I am adult, superior, and Mature.

It's easy to see where this view comes from. From birth, we Depend on adults to survive. But as we grow older, these caring adults encourage us to become more and more Independant. That, at least, is the word commonly used, but I don't think this is the best target to aim for. Maybe parents encourage Independance so much because a part of them is impatient for their loved ones to fly from the nest! "You need to learn to be Independant" (for 'be Independant' read 'Go Away'.)