We Are All Born Free and Equal

Let's get right into the first human right.  Remember, I'm taking these from the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article by article.

Human right number one, which states that we are all born free and equal, is SO important because it sets a stage for the following thirty-nine.  It puts everyone on an equal playing field.  Human rights cannot be meaningful if they are not presumed for all humans.  Neither can they be meaningful if they are presumed for some more than others.  Here is Youth for Human Rights' video depiction of article one of the UDHR.

I know I said I'd give you practical suggestions and ways to promote each human right.  This first one, though, is pretty general, and I think there must be at least a million ways to stand up for freedom and equality.  I'm going to keep it simple today and ask you to simply think about a few things.  Hopefully this will make for a good starting point and enable a bit of healthy self-analysis.  I don't actually have right answers to these questions and would love any insight.

Do we really consider ourselves equal to every single other person?  What are some things that cause us to think that we are better or worse than others?  What does it mean to be free and why is that an important right?  What do you think? What are some other important things to ask when considering the freedom and equality of all?

I'll close with a relevant quote from a good book I'm reading right now written by Desmond Tutu and titled God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for our Time:

"To treat a child of God as if he or she were less than this is not just wrong, which it is; is not just evil, as it often is; not just painful, as it often must be for the victim; it is veritably blasphemous, for it is to spit in the face of God."