Jay blog #3

I think the idea of making a declaration is riddled with problems inherent in any attempt to try and encompass such a large aspect of humanity, in what basically is what is right and what is wrong. I think its hard for us to go into a culture, one that we may view as exotic, and tell them "this is what is good and this is what is bad". Maybe this culture has existed for hundred of years and their practices, ones that go against what we feel are human rights, are as old as the culture. Now in this scenerio it is arrogant for us to go in and say that what these people have been doing all these years is evil and wrong, because essentially what we're saying is that their way of thinking is evil and wrong. People's way of thinking, their thought process, what the identify as human rights is not universal, so such a declaration can not be universal and completely fair. But some practices of some cutures are brutal and cause suffering for many people, like female genital mutilation. So where do we draw the line? When is it right for us to step in and denounce the practices of these cultures, that they may have been practicing for hundreds of years and may very important to them? That is definitely a grey area and it will always be grey. But people are suffering, and if we want to try and be mr. nice guy, mr. open minded, they will continue to suffer. It comes down to how much we believe in these human rights, and weigh that against how much we believe in the sanctity of culture and its importance to life and living? You have to step on toes and hurt people either way you go. So what's more important? Cultures have risen and fallen since the beginning of man, so I believe we do what we need to to protect those human rights.