Neo-Confucianism Is a Philosophy Which Was Born TEST1

¶ … political, economical and social factors affect Human Rights and the perception of these rights as they reflect in different countries and ethnic groups. While the UN may have created the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, but up until today, many countries (including prominent western countries) continue to infringe on a person's inalienable rights as a human being.

Of these human rights, those stated in Article 27 appear to be mostly infringed upon when cultures come together in a single community, or a country's population begins to consist of more and more cultures. This multi-culturalism should in actuality promote peace and understanding, and in many cases it does, nevertheless there are still cultural relativism issues within many communities in specifically Western countries.

Cultural Relativism is defined as the position where all points-of-view, and opinions are considered equally valid. What a person considers as truth is relative to that person's environment. All ethical, religious, political and aesthetic beliefs are truths that are relative to the cultural identity of the individual and these become affected by discrimination and racism in mixed culture communities. Cultural Relativism contributes to all aspects of a society; from driving laws, to appropriate attire in public and laws that govern the society.

A good example of the abuse of cultural relativism would be the prior Taliban regime in Afghanistan. By government orders, Buddhist icons were destroyed and women were subjugated to a new set of laws that stripped them of their prior rights and basic rights as listed by the Universal Declaration. While many may argue that cultural relativism theoretically protected the Taliban culture, it should be noted that the Taliban regime took away many inalienable rights from women, including education. By enforcing new 'cultural' laws in Afghanistan, the Taliban were abusing the culture of the Afghanis and therefore committing crimes against cultural relativism in Afghanistan.

Another example of cultural relativism are Muslim countries. Many countries govern themselves under Shari'ah Law, which means law that is based on the fundamentals of the Quran. Even though we may not agree with all aspects of this law system, it is one that is traditional to many Middle Eastern countries and provides adequate justice within their society. It is also a law system that expatriates to Middle East countries must respect, regardless of how justice is dealt with in their home country. Nevertheless, if a person breaks the law, their human rights must be abided as stated in Article 11 regardless of religious beliefs, race, sex or nationality.

One political and economic factor that seems to in conflict with not only Islamic Law but many human rights issues, is western imperialism. Through the 19th Century many western countries, like Great Britain, gained in their territories and subjugated the communities to their own culture and beliefs. An example of this is found in India, now an independent country, they still show signs of English culture within the country while retaining their own culture, traditions and beliefs.

These days, Western Imperialism seems to be appearing more often in the media as individuals assess the rise of the U.S.A. And their foreign policy as a return to western imperialism and all it represents. Western Imperialism conjures up many abuses against human rights, in particular, racism and the disbanding of cultural autonomy and sovereignty. There is a long history in countries like Iraq of western-led imperialism and history has become the foundation for current opinions. It has reminded Iraqis that there is still an imperial power out there trying to control us and to exploit our oil wealth.

Economic development is a heavy contributing factor to any form of imperialism and with the presence of globalization looming over many countries, individuals are feeling that their rights to freedom, choice and their own Free Will are being compromised for the sake of monetary growth (and greed) from a handful of western countries; namely USA, and Great Britain. Many attitudes towards these countries are formulated from the foundation of prior imperialism and the resurgence of current imperialism within their country.

Take for example the current situation in Iraq. Many attitudes and opinions of the western countries that are now 'peacekeeping' in their country are based on prior experiences and witness of the breakdown of their own culture and traditions when under the thumb of U.S. And UK governments and laws. Still, many Iraqis are finding that their rights as humans are being infringed upon. Article 13 of the Universal Declaration states that "Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state and everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country."

Still, Iraqis are frequently refused entry into their own towns and villages and are unable to freely move around their own country because of 'security restrictions'. From these stranglehold regulations that have been imposed on them without any choice, rebellious and negative opinions have come into play. The end result is more casualties and unnecessary violence between troops and civilians.

The advocacy of human rights is an issue still relevant all over the world. There isn't a single country that can safely argue that their policies and laws do not impose on any articles in the Universal Declaration, or another's culture and beliefs. Nevertheless, the only way is up, and individuals must strive to ensure that their human rights are intact and that they persuade their governments to ensure that cultural autonomy is respected and suppressive courses of action, like globalization and western imperialism are not given the power to abuse individuals, societies and communities.