In Search Of The Truth

From “the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights” Article One All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Lots of things in life simply don’t matter. The price of stamps. The colour of the Queen’s hair. You might even argue that god no longer matters any more. And what you’d also probably agree on – or the majority would, at least – is that politics doesn’t matter either.

Article Two Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Politics doesn’t matter – and by that I mean everything from the United Nations down to local councils – because no matter how loud you shout you’re still one person. At the end of the day, no-one wants to listen to you whine and so no-one will. It doesn’t matter if you want us to declare war on France or repaint your town hall– no-one’s going to listen to you. Right?

Article Eighteen Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

So perhaps, when the election comes to voting tomorrow, you just won’t vote or just use it on a party that amused you. Because, at the end of the day, it isn’t going to make much of a change. You’ll vote, and it will be lost in a tide of Other Votes. Of votes that seem to be more important than yours. You’re not part of a race to win, you’re just betting on the outcome. Win or lose, you won’t have had a part in it. Right?

Article Twenty-One 1. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. 2. Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country. 3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

And after all, what has politics ever done for us? We don’t owe Tony Blair anything, just as we don’t owe Margaret Thatcher, Winston Churchill, the United Nations or John F. Kennedy anything. Politics doesn’t do anything. They talk about change, and all that happens is the hospitals stay full, the schools stay underfunded, the buses still smell slightly strange and the sun still rises in the east. What has politics ever done for us?

Article Twenty-Four Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

But perhaps, before we throw away our vote or write ‘Communism Rules’ on a ballot paper and chuck it in a box, we should consider what politics really means. Because even though it might be dumbed down to bitching party leaders, debates about the price of milk and door-to-door annoyances, politics has at its root one of the most important things on this planet. You. And your rights. In the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights there are thirty articles, each one laying down the fundamental rights of every person on this planet. They were laid down in 1948, and its members had just witnessed two world wars. They were last altered in 1997. Are we happy with the way the world works? Are you happy with the way the world works? And is there a difference? No. Because just as we all share human rights, we all share a part in the future of our school, our nation and our planet. Voting is not about being a comedian. It is not about being a political extremist. It is not about being a philosopher. It is about being a human, and playing your part. And that is why the vote on May 5th will be so important.

In Germany, the Nazis first came for the communists, and I did not speak up, because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak up, because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak up, because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I did not speak up, because I was not a Catholic. Then they came for me... and by that time, there was no one to speak up for anyone. -- Martin Niemoeller, Pastor, German Evangelical (Lutheran) Church