What Issues Can Be Raised When Trying To Define Universal Human Rights
1. Can there be any universal human rights? What issues can be raised when trying to assert universal human rights? Who should decide what the universal human rights should be, and what about those who disagree with them?
I do believe there should be at least some basic universal human rights. I'm not so sure there can be though, due to cultural differences involving religion and societal beliefs. In many Islamic countries there are hadd laws which carry out sentences of amputating limbs when a person steals or stoning or flogging for adultery or other sexual acts considered morally corrupt. In our country and other similar, Westernized countries, we consider punishments such as these to be inhumane and downright cruel. However, is it our …show more content…
Every culture believes their way of life is superior to others. I think ethnocentrism is typically a negative thing because it is on par with racism; to believe a certain way of life is wrong because it is not the way you live, is a very narrow minded way of thinking. However, one way it could perhaps be a positive thing, is when it brings a culture together. 9/11 comes to mind. After 9/11, everybody in America (although sadly, if you covered your head in any kind of way you were a target of hatred) were connected to one another. There was a feeling of unity amongst people. There were American flags EVERYWHERE sending a message that the American way of life will not be defeated. So in the face of tragedy and dispair, that sense of ethnocentrism was a positive thing. However, the way enthocentrism functions in a culture usually has negative affects. For example, minorities are discriminated against constantly in our culture. A specific example I can give is when in 2013, the Miss America title was won by an Indian American women. There was outrage by the public. Why? Because this girl did not have white skin so it was assumed that she wasn't "American enough". Many people in this country tend to forget what this country was built upon and what the Statue of Liberty says. It says " Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..." Not "...only if their skin is white." Another example of ethnocentrism that
I do believe there should be at least some basic universal human rights. I'm not so sure there can be though, due to cultural differences involving religion and societal beliefs. In many Islamic countries there are hadd laws which carry out sentences of amputating limbs when a person steals or stoning or flogging for adultery or other sexual acts considered morally corrupt. In our country and other similar, Westernized countries, we consider punishments such as these to be inhumane and downright cruel. However, is it our …show more content…
Every culture believes their way of life is superior to others. I think ethnocentrism is typically a negative thing because it is on par with racism; to believe a certain way of life is wrong because it is not the way you live, is a very narrow minded way of thinking. However, one way it could perhaps be a positive thing, is when it brings a culture together. 9/11 comes to mind. After 9/11, everybody in America (although sadly, if you covered your head in any kind of way you were a target of hatred) were connected to one another. There was a feeling of unity amongst people. There were American flags EVERYWHERE sending a message that the American way of life will not be defeated. So in the face of tragedy and dispair, that sense of ethnocentrism was a positive thing. However, the way enthocentrism functions in a culture usually has negative affects. For example, minorities are discriminated against constantly in our culture. A specific example I can give is when in 2013, the Miss America title was won by an Indian American women. There was outrage by the public. Why? Because this girl did not have white skin so it was assumed that she wasn't "American enough". Many people in this country tend to forget what this country was built upon and what the Statue of Liberty says. It says " Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..." Not "...only if their skin is white." Another example of ethnocentrism that