International Human Rights Day

December 10 has been designated "International Human Rights Day" by the United Nations. I wanted to comment on the matter, but I'm having trouble finding the right words to use, so here goes.

For the rich to remain rich, the poor have to stay poor. The amount of capital available is finite, and a select group of people aim to maintain control over as much of it as it can, leaving the vast majority in a scramble for the table scraps. The United Nations tells us eliminating poverty is "a matter of obligation, not charity". The way I see it, unless this means an obligation to the truth, the battle is already lost.

Hardly any of us question why the poor folk are still poor while corporations make a killing from the land on which they live. Hardly any of us wish to discuss how this free market economy has left the door open for pillaging and plundering in an effort to grab as much as one can while one can. The only way human rights will cease being an issue is through justice, and that begins with truth. Human rights remains a problem because the private interests behind each of our media streams aim to keep the good times rolling. The problem is, when we're all dying, there'll be fewer and fewer bodies to operate the machinery.

Keeping in the spirit of things, might I recommend watching Matewan.