Humanities Day is very valuable and meaningful because it helps us understand others through their languages, histories, and cultures. It also teaches us to reason about being human and to ask questions about the world and our lives. During the fourth annual Humanities Day, two particular events truly informed me and affected my thinking:“Languages, Universality, and Human Rights,” hosted by Mark Miller, and “Power and the Humanities,” hosted by students. These two presentations were similar yet held a very different concept about the meaning of Humanities Day, which brings a very unique and broader perspective about the world.
Mark Miller’s presentation was about the background and development of Humanities Day, which raises awareness
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Miller said that, before the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, many people in the world had no acknowledged role or rights. The Universal Declaration also makes clear that the people of the world have certain duties to protect human rights. I agree with these statements. In Article 29 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “responsibility” is also one of our human rights, which means we are accountable for respecting the rights and freedoms of others. This means every individual must aim to uphold such rights and should not do so for their own benefits. Mr. Miller was not the only person to think of this statement. Gandhi, a very powerful philosopher, thought of these duties human beings have toward one another. Before having rights many duties are given, and responsibilities come along many individuals need to understand the accountabilities that need to uphold such as committing to the hard work that needs to be done in order to get what is being asked to …show more content…
Most of these people have had to suffer mistreatment, injustice, or simply did not get a fair trial in court. Many people believe only bad human beings go to jail and they get what they deserve. In reality, these human beings do not deserve targeting simply because they are black or Latino. They deserve fair trials and better treatment just like everybody else. One thing that affected my thinking, even more, was something a student said: “These jails needed to be full no matter if people are innocent or guilty of petty crimes or no crime at all.” This made me doubt our justice system not just because I knew this kind of targeting of people is unfair but also the fact that putting an innocent human being in jail to get mistreated undermines and is the opposite of what Article 1 states about