AEU Ethical Action

The second article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights makes two assertions. One, the rights asserted in the UDHR are universal and apply to every human everywhere without distinction. That is, the rights exist despite all the ways in which we distinguish and divide ourselves, and no distinction can be used to separate us from our human rights. Two, Article 2 clarifies that all means all, whether for the rights or the humans. To do that, Article II lists,... as examples, some of the distinctions that humans have made for the purpose of separating and ranking ourselves: race, color, sex, language, religion, and more. The list is not exhaustive, so the Article adds and other status to catch any distinctions not explicitly stated. Such other statuses many include--but not be limited to--marital status, sexual orientation, gender identification, or any ways in which we might create distinctions for the purposes of discrimination. Where we live can also be a distinction, but Article 2 says not. People have these rights if they live in an area (and there were many in 1948) that does not have its own independent status as a nation and if they are moving from one area to another to seek asylum or to work. All rights for all people in all places--stated as clearly and as explicitly as possible--is the message of Article 2. The US signed the UDHR in 1948, but 72 years later there are still gaps in our human rights legislation and its application. For example: --There is still no guarantee of equal rights for women in the US Constitution. --Refugees seeking asylum from violence and repression are incarcerated at our borders in unhealthy and inhumane conditions. --Federal protections for LGTBQ employees shift with the political winds without Congressional action. --Hospitals in Oregon bullied mentally handicapped patients to sign do not resuscitate orders before admitting them for COVID-19 treatment. (Oregon law has now been changed to prohibit this practice, but we might question whether this practice exists elsewhere.) Does your state--or city--have an Equal Rights Amendment? Is your city a Human Rights City? Are prisoners--federal, state, local--included in this article? Do humans have rights elsewhere in the solar system? Read Article 2: https://www.un.org//universal-declaration-human/index.html #UDHR #AEUEthicalAction Human Rights Campaign Border Network for Human Rights

Start Your New Year's Resolution Now WRITE A LETTER, CHANGE A LIFE BY 1/31/2021 EHSLI member Pat Spencer, our Amnesty International liaison, urges us to partici...pate in Write For Rights is Amnesty International’s largest annual human rights campaign. People like us around the world write letters on behalf of people who need urgent help. Through the power of collective action, our letters will help convince government officials to free people unjustly imprisoned or facing abuses. Each year the UUCSR Social Justice Committee sponsors, in conjunction with the Ethical Humanist Society of LI participation in the Write4Rights Campaign organized by Amnesty International. This year we take the campaign on-line! To participate, follow these easy steps: 1. Go to : https://write.amnestyusa.org/ 2. Choose a political prisoner(s). Study the individual’s case sheet to become familiar with his/her experience. Write a letter of your own composition or copy the letter provided in your own handwriting. You can also print the letter and sign it. Address an envelope using the information on the individual’s case sheet. For international addresses, add $1.15 in postage (three forever stamps). Add your return address to the envelope. You may get a response. 3. Write a card of support to the individual and family member(s) listed on the case sheet. Sign your name and your country. Address the card using the information on the individual’s case sheet and add the appropriate postage. Add your return address. You may get a response from the individual and family members. 4. Mail your letters by January 31, 2021. 5. Notify Pat Spencer ([email protected]) that you did one or both of the above, that way she can alert Amnesty International how many letters/cards were sent.

The very first words of the UDHR assert, among other things, that one cannot be born into slavery. It means that we are, at the moment of birth, equal to each other in our innate claim to dignity (worthiness, nobility) and to rights (as they are stated in the UDHR and embodied in law). It means that from birth we must be considered and treated as reasoning, aware beings who belong to one human family. Moreover, we should act toward each other on the basis of that bond of k...inship--regardless of "race," creed, color, national origin, gender, or political party. Article I reflects the bedrock conviction in Ethical Culture that every human being has worth and should be treated as an end, not a means. The Poor People's Campaign makes a similar call for respect for workers and the hands that make our daily lives possible. How can we treat the workers who make our daily lives possible as ends rather than means? How can we protect their dignity and rights? #AEUEthicalAction #PoorPeoplesCampaign #UDHR

The urgent need for a Universal Declaration of Human Rights was clear to those who worked, in the aftermath of World War II, to draft the UDHR and get it adopted by the still-new United Nations. The reasons and purposes for the Declaration are laid out in the Preamble, which also issues a call to action: "We are called to educate our fellow humans about the meaning of these rights and to work to assure that all persons are allowed to exercise them freely and safely." Educa...te. Protect. We of the AEU have tasked ourselves to publicize the UDHR and the rights it asserts and work to make sure that these rights are observed in our country. Educate. Protect. To create a more humane environment in which all may live freely, safely, with dignity. #UDHR #UNHCR #AEUEthicalAction National Ethical Service Read the Preamble: https://bit.ly/37z8OXR

What a wonderful way to celebrate this changing of the seasons! Northern Virginia Ethical Society is setting up a series of Service at Home Challenges while staying safe from COVID-19 by staying home. This one can involve the whole family and can spread positivity to the whole community. #AEUEthicalAction #randomactsofkindness #StaySafeAtHome