Human Rights

A few days ago I was watching a CBN News segment where they were reporting on President Obama’s Healthcare Bill/Law going to the Supreme Court. The news gave the facts about the case and even interviewed protesters on both sides who were outside of the court building. One of the Pro Heath Care protesters said something that hit me kind of funny. She stated that Health care was a “Human Right”.

Before the 20^th Century Humans had two basic rights. The right to be born and the right to die. Pretty much that was all that you were guaranteed. Oh and if you were of a Christian faith you were guaranteed that you would be judged after death.

Now that we have hit the 21^st century we do have more human rights guaranteed by international law. But who is to say that international law is to be followed. Take North Korea for example, the government in that country is going to do what it wants regardless of what the international community says and so far no one has stopped them. So are human rights different for North Koreans?

Basic human rights are defined as the basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled such as civil and political rights, the right to life and liberty, freedom of thought and expression, equality before the law, social, cultural and economic rights, including the right to participate in culture, the right to food, the right to work, and the right to education.

Nice words but this is not guaranteed, just ask people in North Korea, China, Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, India, Afghanistan, and Mexico. I guarantee you that there are people in these countries that would love to have the right to enough food to keep them from being hungry, to have political freedom to speak their minds without reprisal. Freedom to follow their culture and religion as well as many other rights listed above including health care. I’m not saying that these governments are denying them these rights, but that they generally don’t exist for all peoples in these countries.

So when did the right to government health care become a human right??

A quote that has been attributed to Ronald Reagan and would be good to contemplate is ; “Nobody is entitled to anything they don’t work for or make with their own hands.” Don’t know if he really said it or not but it is definitely food for thought.