Our Status Under Human Rights: Shared Human Nature

What does it mean to share the same basic nature as other human beings? 

We talked about some of this in the last piece

Our Status Under Human Rights: Members of a Human Family
http://peerlyhuman.blogspot.com/2017/10/our-status-under-human-rights-members.html

Our shared nature includes some things like:

1. Birthright of membership
2. Equality
3. Dignity
4. Reason 
5. Conscience
6. Worth
7. Potential
8. Responsibility

But it also covers something else:  

Shared Aspirations

There are four basic things that pretty much all of us want, no matter who we are.  They come from Roosevelt's Four Freedoms:

1. Freedom from fear
2. Freedom from want
3. Freedom of speech (voice)
4. Freedom of belief (thoughts / values/ lived experience)

The first two are about freedom from stuff that feels painful. 

The last two are about freedom to use the capacities for reason and conscience that we are born with.

Without these Four Freedoms, 

it's hard to feel fully human

If you've ever longed for these things or felt their lack, it's a reminder of how very human we all are.

It's also a reminder of how important it is to protect these rights for all of us.