Adopted in 1948, the United Nations Declaration of Human
Rights outlined “fundamental freedoms” of all humans worldwide. The United States signed the document,
promising that it, too, agreed upon a common definition of “human rights”
stating,
Everyone has the right to a standard
of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family,
including food, clothing, housing, and medical care and necessary social services,
and the right to security in the event
of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age, or other lack
of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
- The United Nations Declaration of
Human Rights, Article 25.1
Yet, it is 2020 and we as a nation are still a long way from
providing a standard of living outlined in this article to the 327 million
citizens within her borders. Compared
with most other Western Nations, we are grossly behind the curve when it comes
to securing the basic human rights of our citizens. Finland, for example, has one of the world’s
most comprehensive social policy, enabling all citizens and long-time residents
the basics of health care, dental care, unemployment and disability insurance,
and many other social programs – all in line with Article 25 of the UNHR. America lacks even basic universal
healthcare, though there are politicians out there promising to make it happen. We are seeing the cost of our lack of social
programs right now, with the Coronavirus outbreak. Those people who are working 2 and 3 jobs
just to make the rent are now being sent home and quarantined without the
security of knowing where their rent check is coming from. Many do not know if the job will be waiting
for them when this is all over. Our
existing safety nets are not nearly big enough to handle the crisis coming when
this is all over, and we provide no assurances of these basic human rights to
our citizens. Finland does though. Maybe that’s why they’re the happiest country
in the world and we’re living a scene from Resident Evil.
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Grade: 10/10
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