forget universal... the mold doesn't work

So, I must admit that I came out of last class pretty frustrated—

That being said, I’d like to readdress the topic of the universality of human rights.

In December 1948, the United Nations voted to pass The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This document “recognizes 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” (UDHR). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights includes thirty articles that stipulate specifically what ‘human rights’ in fact are. Following the global devastation of World War II and the atrocities of the Holocaust, the newly formed United Nations took the protection of the rights of humanity as a very significant goal. This declaration was voted on over 1,400 times and was finally agreed to by the fifty member states. The creation of this ‘universal’ charter sent a global message proclaiming that no matter nationality, no matter ethnicity, no matter age, no matter gender, that all humans are entitled to some rights irrespective.
Globalization has led to a loss of identity and culture, by simply expanding a western cultural influence over the rest of the globe.

Is the adoption of ‘universal human rights’ another misnomer courtesy of one-sided globalization that manages to neglect individual state’s cultural personality?

Yes.

As for me, this question has taken a long time to answer assuredly. But after a semester in rural Nigeria and Argentina, I can firmly state that the actions of Western human rights advocacy groups have merely managed to judge and produce propaganda against non-western practices.
There may in fact be some universal human rights, but there are not meant to be written into some declaration, they are meant to be on the conscious and heart of each human being. It is not for one culture to critique another. Cultures naturally change and some practices die and new ones form. If the west continues with its human rights ‘campaigns’ against specific practices then we will only see those ‘forbidden’ practices embraced as a way to spite the West.

For those who wish to end violations of human rights, I would suggest starting with a careful examination of the western companies who supposedly adhere to our same culturally-relative definitions of human rights such as Shell Oil in the Niger Delta…

If you are interested, please watch the trailer of Sweet Crude: A Documentary Film

http://www.sweetcrudemovie.com/videoGallery.php

-Sam Boss