A Reasonable and Needed Declaration

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY

A draft presented in the UN Department of Public Information for consideration and possible promotion

PREAMBLE
Whereas recognition of the dignity inherent in all members of the human community, in addition to their equal and inalienable rights being the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, should also include recognition of citizen responsibility for other people;

Whereas irresponsibility of many people including politicians, military and industry managers has led to the new reality of XX-XXI centuries, the threat of an all-civilization collapse, as a result of which the human race may cease to exist;

Whereas in the globalizing world the interdependence of people has grown, and irresponsibility of some turns into lawlessness or limitation of rights of many others;

Whereas acts of irresponsibility on any level are in disparity with the wish of overwhelming majority of people, who intend to live in more orderly and more predictable countries;

Whereas creation of the world, where people have freedom of speech and opinion and are free of fear and want, proclaimed in Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the lofty intention of people, will come closer to its fruition if responsibilities of each human will grow to include responsibilities at levels higher than just family, job, or contractual obligations;

Whereas in the society where socially responsible persons prevail, it is impossible for state power to degrade into a dictatorship, and people do not have to resort to insurrection as their last chance against tyranny and oppression;
Whereas friendly relations between nations at interpersonal and inter-state levels are becoming a natural norm of relations, in which neglecting one’s duties and obligations is a very rare exception;

Whereas in any community where sense of responsibility is expression of human dignity and good, the observance of human rights develops into a habit and opens wider horizons for social self-realization of a person;

Whereas peoples of the United Nations have to see in this Document their faith in fundamental human principles, in the dignity and worth of the socially responsible human persons being able to provide better standards of life for all;

Whereas the United Nations has sufficient authority in the world to achieve success in the promotion of universal respect for observance of human responsibilities and duties;

Whereas Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by heads of state 60 years ago has shown the importance of a similar Charter as the common human document for all the world, for better life of people;

Whereas the state level of responsibility being recommended by Member States as a governing principle in the world, will be an essential factor for development of friendly relations between nations;

Whereas both disregard and contempt for human rights resulting in barbaric acts which insult the consciousness of Humankind, in any degree is explained by that people-to-people responsibilities have not been an issue of world’s concern, have not been laid forth in an international document of Universal Declaration rank and have not entered social consciousness;

Whereas comprehension of comprehensive character of responsibility at all levels is of huge importance for the fortunes of the world,

Now, therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY 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, will strive by teaching and education to promote respect for and observance of human responsibilities and duties and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance.

Article 1.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights claimed “Everyone has the right to life” as one of the main rights. For the first time in human history, all of Humankind may be deprived of this right. That is why human behaviour should be determined by such a factor as responsibility of worldwide scale or “planetary responsibility.”

Article 2.

1. The idea of planetary responsibility, correlating with the rights and usual responsibilities and duties, must spread among people not only because it is a necessary condition to minimize and overcome numerous threats which have hung over Humankind, but also because it has the potential to unite and appease Humankind.

2. A human individual realizing his planetary responsibility, correlating himself/herself with the fortunes of the world, grows up as a person, moves into new spaces of thought, acquires better psychological stability.

Article 3.

1. Everyone has responsibilities and duties to the society. In a society of socially responsible persons, human rights are observed and a person is best equipped for personal self-realization.

2. Everyone has the right to select and take on himself/herself that kind/level of responsibility/duty which is acceptable for him/her, measuring against his abilities and aptitudes, to better correspond to it, not to have the reputation of an irresponsible person.

Article 4.

1. One’s responsibility to people should not permit him/her to hold whoever in slavery; slavery and slave trade should be prohibited in all their forms as being in contradiction both with human rights, on the one hand, and human responsibility, on the other hand.

2. One’s responsibility to people should prevent him/her from torturing or other cruel, inhuman treatment or punishment as degrading human dignity, including the dignity of those who perform such acts.

Article 5.

State and municipal organs recognizing the right of everyone to be an entity before the law, should recognize as well the right of everyone to bring action against those organs’ officials who have acted irresponsibly.

Article 6.

Judicial organs pleading a cause have a special responsibility to do all possible in the framework of the law to provide equal rights for those who appear before the court: to judge them without any discrimination, to give equal protection of the law. No one in order of prosecution may be subject to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 7.

The family as the natural and fundamental unit of society should accept domestic responsibility as factor of its stability and hopefulness. One may expect from officials, not burdened with domestic problems to be more responsible in their public service.

Article 8.

1. The right to freedom of peaceful assembly and associations should be augmented by responsibility of those in charge of them.

2. High responsibility should be characteristic of those politicians who seek leadership or are already vested in with power.

Article 9.

Pedagogues of all levels, from kindergarten to high school, giving knowledge in subjects to their kids, pupils and students and inculcating in them ability to think, should not forget their responsibility to bring up socially responsible persons, those who are about to enter adult life.

Article 10.

Responsibility of planetary scale applies in the first place to those who have levers of influence on many people’s lives:

1. State leaders, politicians, public figures, military:

Planetary responsibility rules out laying and pursuing of selfish and nationalistic goals and tasks, especially those which allow military methods of their accomplishment; national goals, tasks and actions should be correlated with common human interests and civilization security.

2. Intellectuals, analysts, methodologists and other brainworking people:

Having realized their responsibility to both the people living and of next generations they work for the creation of Strategy of secure sustainable development in harmonious symbiosis with Nature as a common, the most significance their affair, at that as the matter being urgent. For that they will be made overcome their disconnection (explained by mainly individual character of creative work), elaborate effective regalements of problem-resolving, partake in new educational strategy’s elaboration having the goal to teach creative activity in different areas as a standard of the life.

3. Educational sphere’s workers:

Their responsibility is especially hard executed as they are needed to give their kids, pupils and students in any sense more than they have themselves. Having used achievements of sciences on the human and having understood why the human mentality doesn’t cope with global problems, they will have to elaborate the 3rd Millennium level methodology and techniques of teaching, being adequate to challenges of the civilization and opening prospective of humankind’s progressive development.

4. Ecologists, biologists, workers of material production sphere:

Human striving people for better life, i.e., in particular, for higher level of the consumption, is in conflict with possibilities of Nature to assimilate and re-make waste. Ecological imperative stays the task to organize all-planetary ecological monitoring and Strategy of Co-Evolution of Humankind and Nature, proved and correlated after the situation. The Strategy, being elaborated for production workers and ecological inspectorate up concrete requests of the ecological imperative, would outline their spheres of responsibility.

5. Belletrists and artistic actors:

In worried conditions when the question hangs over «to be or not to be», thoughtless and completely entertaining fiction and art, especially if there are finding a place for aesthetics of ugly and vulgar, are perceived as a kind of irresponsibility of creators, producers and investors. Adequate and proved value-containing orientation of creative people, taking into account their planetary responsibility, may help him to create artistic works being able to influence beneficially on moral climate of the society.

6. Those who are working with information and its technical providing:

Problems of common human scale need adequate information servicing, with scientific and technical conveying. Such problems is, for example, how to organize all-wide forum «To Happy Life on the Earth», or a forum-resource to proceed express-referendums on common human problems, in separated time, in all the countries of the world.

Workers of media and advertising as having the most massive influence on the society should to elaborate for them the sense of responsibility for clearness of inter-human space, what is direct to do with moral climate of the society.

The Draft of Declaration proposed by

Dr. Uladzimir Tratsiakou
(Republic of Belarus),
Representative by DPI/UN,
International Scientific Public Union ”IAIT”

Education is a Human Right. Let's do it!

There are (at least) three sources for most people's worldviews in the world.

One is what is absorbed from parents and others as small children, which forms the basic personality and opinions of people on the deepest unconscious levels of the mind.

Another is education, which is controlled by a subculture I call 'academia' which has it's own agenda and control algorithms which limit the mind of the individual who has spent massive amounts of time in that subculture. But this is not necessarily the strongest force holding humanity in mental thrall.

Lastly, there is what I call, 'common knowledge'. Common knowledge is the bulk of the data which most people run their minds with, and when it changes, everything changes. It evolves human society regardless of both the unconscious childhood absorption of bad data and the academic subculture. It is absorbed by people on another level, and changes people's viewpoints profoundly. While the GIGO (garbage in/garbage out)of common knowledge allows much of the worse behavior in our world, it evolves as enough people change or absorb better data into the 'common knowledge', and it's little brother, which we call 'fads', causes change in mass numbers of people very quickly indeed although such changes don't last long. All 'isms' seek to change 'common knowledge', all capitalists try to get their products into 'common knowledge', and politicians seek to manipulate 'common knowledge' through propaganda and campaign ads.

When something is promoted that would benefit all the people, all the masses, it becomes unstoppable when it becomes common knowledge, and over time, it will be implemented. It is the way that people sidestep the manipulations of politicians, capitalists, religious fanatics, etc, and bring something new and better into our cultures.

When I got this email from a long time friend of mine, an active promoter of human rights and freedoms, I decided to promote it. There may be a sliver of time here where such efforts can bare fruit, if only to get the idea into the 'common knowledge'.

I am forwarding this request to all the groups I am a member of. I
think this approach is reasonable at this time. Thomas is an old time
(30 year) friend of mine and a promoter of human freedom.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey,

I wanted to see if I could get your quick help. I'm not sure if you've
heard, but there's a movement of citizens inspired by the presidential
campaign who are now submitting ideas for how they think the Obama
Administration should change America. It's called "Ideas for Change in
America."

I've submitted an idea and wanted to see if you could quickly vote for
it. The title is: Education- A Human Right. You can read and vote for
the idea by clicking on the following link:

http://www.change. org/ideas/ view/education- _a_human_ right

The top 10 ideas are going to be presented to the Obama Administration
on Inauguration Day and will be supported by a national lobbying
campaign run by Change.org, MySpace, and more than a dozen leading
nonprofits after the Inauguration. So each idea has a real chance at
becoming policy.

Thanks for the support,

Thomas

The Map is not the Terrain

Most of my blog entries come from conversations I am in where the message I write seems particularly clear to me. I don't usually post the other people's messages unless I have their agreement, although I sometimes paraphrase them to give the reader some idea what I am speaking in response to. This is a response to a discussion on 'Firstprinciplesgroup' on Yahoo.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I agree somewhat, but the map is not the terrain. A belief, any
belief, is not the same as pure experience. Science finds that out
daily, and scientists, most of them, do go on experience first, maps
last.

If a map be vague enough, purely symbolic with many concepts which
relate to nothing experienced, and a person clings to the map's
'truth', then they stumble over and over again. If they cast away the
map and simply adapt to their experiences, they discover and can cope
with each new experience without limitations that exist only on their map.

Reality is so much more than any conceptual map can contain, having
one can be more of a handicap in survival than an asset.

In communicating with words, we pass maps, filled with symbols which
may or may not have the same meanings. If I say, "My toe hurts." then
the person I am speaking to must have had the experience of their toe
hurting to relate that statement to, or they cannot understand the
statement. They then try to fit other pains they have experienced to
that statement, gaining some meaning from it. But if they have no
toes, or have never had pain, they are as a birth blind person
listening to descriptions of color. All languages are conceptual, even
math, and only the experience from experiments can clean the GIGO
(garbage in/garbage out) out of math produced maps.

The greatest, ultimate, complete experience a human can have cannot be
described in words at all. This is the meaning of "Those who know
don't say, and those who say don't know." It can only be pointed at.

A conceptual map, a 'belief system', a communicated 'understanding'
cannot give actual knowledge of anything, because only experience can
give knowledge of Truth. At best, a conceptual map, a 'belief system',
or a communicated 'understanding' can only point to the experience, so
the person can know it exists, at least in the map of the speaker.
Concepts in their essence, can have no truth within them, and since
the imagination can produce vast cosmologies with concepts, anything
can come from maps made from concepts.

Fortunately, what people do is often totally different than the maps
they tell others they go by. What they do counts, what they believe is
almost irrelevant, having almost nothing to do with their actions.

All the conceptual creations, at best, are like having a map of one
square inch of New York City. The individual who has the map thinks
all of the city is just on that map, and even if that map is 100%
accurate, the city a foot away can be so different than the map, it
makes using the map purely futile, and even produce bad, even horrible
results.

The world is full of one inch conceptual maps, and the result is the
extrapolation of the greater world from those one inch maps, and great
harm comes from it. Religious and political fanatics run up against
terrain that does not fit their one inch map, and they seek to impose
their map upon everyone by violence and agony.

Yet, if none had a map, they would simply adapt to the next inch, and
the inch after that, based not on map making, but on experience.
Without a map, they could surf life and know the real thing.

The Universe is far more than we THINK it is. WE are far more than we
can THINK we are. But if we give up thinking, and simply perceive, be
aware, we can know Universe as it is.

And to show I have no problem with the love neighbor principle, etc,
this is what I have observed:

When we perceive reality cleanly, we find that our neighbor, all the
people on the planet, ARE OURSELVES. It's only when it comes from a
conceptual map which has only the meanings the tiny idiot translator
called the 'ego' uses that this becomes a matter of interpretation and
debate.