how did we know what to do before them?

Article 1.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Today the Universal Declaration of Human Rights celebrates its 60th anniversary. This is good news for me as it gives me the excuse to get my year eights to write the universal declaration of twelve year olds’ rights. It’s also, in my opinion, good news for the human race – but then I’m a bleeding heart liberal so you expect me to say that. For many, while the sentiment is admirable the implementation of these rights causes problems.

Article 3.
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

The European Court of Human Rights comes under a torrent of abuse on a regular basis from large sections of the British press. It is seen as a set of rules that allow terrorists and criminals to operate on the same basis as the good, hard working, tax paying, church going, bread baking people of the world.

Article 4.
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

It isn’t the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights they are directly attacking. Over here it is generally the much more recent Human Rights Act (2000) that faces criticism. And the European court of human rights regularly makes front page news when it finds against public opinion. Jack Straw, ironically the British Home Secretary when the Government brought in the Human Rights Act, recently admitted that the Act was seen as “a villains’ charter and promised reform.

Article 5.
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

The Conservatives have been calling for massive changes for a long time. And the right wing press have been unrelenting:
“It has given prisoners rights to drugs, and foreign hijackers the right to live in Britain. It has given gipsies (sic) the right to squat, and enabled the rapist Anthony Rice to get out of prison early to murder an innocent woman.” said Anthony Brown in the Daily Mail last year, “It allowed the killer of London headmaster Philip Lawrence to live near his widow because it was against his right to family life to be deported to his native Italy.”

You see the problem is that, while we like the idea of human rights, we’re not so keen on the universal aspect of it. It’s all well and good protecting the rights of the masses to practise religion in a free and open way but we don’t like it so much when that religious message turns against the type life we’ve been living so comfortably for so long. We applaud the right to free assembly but we’re not so happy when groups of people we don’t like come marching down our roads dressed in drag.

Article 9.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

It was a moment of delicious irony last week when the same politicians and newspapers who regularly vilify the Act found it supporting them. The English Police lost a case in the European Court of Human Rights that sees them have to destroy DNA records of innocent men. For years the Police have been building and storing records on suspects whether they went on to be found guilty or not. They claim it has helped them catch people who, despite being found innocent of one crime, go on to commit another one. I claim it was a worrying precedent – and the European Court of Human Rights agreed with me.

Article 18.
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

I can’t, and won’t, claim that the Human Rights Act is a leak-proof guarantee of liberty and equality. The British Human Rights Act, the European Convention on Human Rights, and even the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights are far from perfect – I’m not sure it’s possible to enshrine something like human rights on paper. But I am sick of hearing people blame the woes of our society on a list of articles; most of which are common sense. The fact that it doesn’t prescribe responsibility with the rights does not invalidate the rights themselves. Why should it? Why have we become so incapable of taking responsibility for our own responsibilities. In one of my classes recently we stumbled upon the difference between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. Is it not sad that in searching for gaps in the letter of this declaration we miss out on the immense spirit that shines through it. It is simply, as it claims to be, “a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations.”

Article 19.
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

So I will be raising a glass to that little list today; for when I read through the UN Declaration of human rights for the first time a couple of weeks ago it reminded me of Thomas Jefferson’s magnificent words, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Article 26.
(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

For a full list of the articles that make up the declaration go here.

Please stop trying, stop trying, and stop trying again

And Robert the Bruce was inspired, or so the story goes. It had been a hard time for him by all accounts. He's watched his army suffer horrendous defeat time and time again to Edward I's english rabble. He'd seen three of his brothers murdered, his wife imprisoned and he'd been forced to run away and hide in a little cave. Locals here will tell you that the cave was on Rathlin Island, just off the Antrim Coast.

As he sat in the gloom he found himself watching a spider - well there wasn't much on TV back then. He watched the spider intricately weaving its silk into a beautiful pattern and then as it tried to spin the web across the space to the other side of the cave - surely impossible Brucie thought. And so it seemed; for the spider failed miserably. "A bit like me Army" thought Bruce. However, instead of giving up and hiding in a cave somewhere the spider had another go - and failed. Again the spider tried to cross the gap - and again it failed, and again and again and again. But then something incredible happened. On its seventh attempt the little brute managed to reach the other side of the cave. Its persistence filled RTB with a new spirit - one which cried out 'Try! Try! And try again!' So inspired was he that he immediately set about rebuilding his army and led Scotland to a famous victory against the English.

I, on the other hand, am not so motivated by this little story. So, will someone please tell the spider hiding behind the wing mirror of my car to give up already! Twice a day I have to clear the mess away so I can actually see the mirror. Sheesk!

Write a blog – tell a history

Historians have decided that the academics of the future would probably be very interested to read about what we’re all doing in our lives, what we ate for breakfast this morning and what our journey to work was like. Me, I’m not so sure that they will be but I’m up for most things.

A quick visit to the history matters website will allow you to be involved in the ‘biggest blog in history’, an opportunity ‘for you to join in a mass blog for the national record.’ Well if they want to read it I’m more than happy to write it.

Go on, you could be famous in 3121. Future generations may marvel at what you got up to on the 17th October 2006.

those poor welsh

There are stirrings among the people, unrest in the streets, the people are dividing into two, and conflict seems inevitable. We have until November 20th to sort this mess out or all hell will break loose. It appears that some people are no longer happy with the mythology-ridden George as the patron saint of England.

They say he wasn’t even English, that he gained his considerable wealth through fraud, that he was as mean as a mean thing, and that as Archbishop of Alexandria he was so hated by his people that when he fell from grace and was incarcerated they stormed the prison, dragged him out, murdered him and threw his remains into the sea. And not a single mention of a dragon anywhere the Welsh will be relieved to know.)

These Anglo-Saxon rebels want St Edmund put in the place of George. They claim the whole George thing was nothing more than Normandic propaganda (those damned French are usually to blame)

St Edmund (the Martyr) was an Anglo-Saxon king round the middle of the century – the ninth century that is. He battled hard against the Danes (those damned Danes are usually to blame) but lost. Legend has it that he actually threw away his weapons wanting to imitate Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was arrested, tortured, tied up and used as a target for javelin throwing practice. Legend has it that the whole time, as he became a human porcupine, he refused to deny Christ. They had to behead him in the end.

Sounds great – lets change now. Except I can’t really see it happening. People just couldn’t be bothered. It seems a lot of hassle to change after we’d got used to the old guy. The English don’t really do much to celebrate their Saints anyway. And is Edmund really that much better than George?

His history, too, relies on legend and mythology (even if it is slightly more realistic that fighting dragons.) He, it appears, isn’t actually English either – He’s German (Like our current Monarchs), born in Nuremberg (which explains his love of motor racing). And, unfortunately, the Welsh don’t come out any better. Edmund’s flag is a white dragon on a red background (which, let’s face it, would really mess up the Union Jack) symbolising the English Dragon which did battle with the Celtic Dragon (The red dragon – seen on the Welsh flag) fairly constantly.

So, let battle commence – but please have it sorted by November 20th (St Edmund’s day) so the English know which days they are supposed to do nothing to celebrate their Patron Saint as usual.