Human rights are one of the great tasks of our civilisation. This article discusses the importance of this task along with our personal responsibility to be involved.
When I was writing the introduction to Human Rights, there were a number of things I wanted to discuss which would have made it too long to be an introduction. Some of these thoughts are fleshed out here, such as the idea of speciesism, states and other structural issues.
The massacres in Rwanda were an event that touched me deeply, and taught me much about the world. Here are a couple of good summary articles about why the west should also learn from them.
The only difference is that the stress and the violence is worse at home, because it happens younger, it happens at the hands of someone you love and there is no recognition that this is the enemy
A century of nonviolent conflict
In some ways, one could see it as a ridiculous idea. That systems created and supported by violence could be threatened by peaceful protest. Time and again over history however that is what we have seen. Indeed non-violent movements are often more successful than violent ones. Violence plays the game...