The Rise and Rise of Human Rights

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

>The Rise and Rise of Human Rights, Kirsten Sellars, Sutton Publishing, 2002
>
>In charting The Rise and Rise of Human Rights, Kirsten Sellars 
>argues that in the decades after the Second World War, human rights 
>have always come to the fore when other ideologies or doctrines were 
>exhausted or ineffective.
>
>For most of the post-war period, human rights were subordinated to 
>the doctrine of anti-communism. It is in the present post-Cold War 
>era that human rights ideals have been in the ascendant. Human 
>rights have been embraced and championed in recent years by a 
>coalition that includes celebrities, politicians and a multitude of 
>foot soldiers in the human rights industry.
>
>More at:
><http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/00000006D9CD.htm >http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/00000006D9CD.htm

There has not been a word wasted on human rights, though, as far as 
the planned US adventure in Iraq is concerned.   The prevailing 
discourse is not humanitarian but monarchical:

*****   Mr. Bush added: "I'll continue to consult. Listen, it's a 
healthy debate for people to express their opinion. People should be 
allowed to express their opinion. But America needs to know, I'll be 
making up my mind based upon the latest intelligence and how best to 
protect our own country plus our friends and allies."

<http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/17/international/17PREX.html>   *****

The stake boils down to the "credibility" of the sovereign:

*****   Richard N. Perle...said by telephone from France. "The 
failure to take on Saddam after what the president said would produce 
such a collapse of confidence in the president that it would set back 
the war on terrorism." 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/16/international/middleeast/16IRAQ.html> 
*****
-- 
Yoshie

* Calendar of Events in Columbus: 
<http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html>
* Anti-War Activist Resources: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/activist.html>
* Student International Forum: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/>
* Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osu.edu/students/CJP/>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <../attachments/20020817/4d6f0580/attachment.htm>