Eleanor Roosevelt -- Core Values of Humanity
With a little help from FDR. Also, a contrast to . . . well, you know . . .
Restacking three columns today.
Carol L. Clark — From the Left — today, posted one of the finest little pieces I have read recently, and I urge all — both of my longterm readers — to read Carol L. Clark at:
Carol L. Clark lays out a “Bill of Rights” from Franklin Delano Roosevelt:
1. Employment (the right to work – not to be confused with today’s anti-union right-to-work laws). The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;
2. An adequate income for food, shelter, and recreation – the right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
3. Farmers’ rights to a fair income – the right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;
4. Freedom from unfair competition and monopolies – the right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;
5. Decent housing – the right of every family to a decent home;
6. Adequate medical care – the right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
7. Social security – the right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
8. Education – the right to a good education.
In From the Left, Carol L. Clark points out that Eleanor Roosevelt was a real statesman in her own right, and that her great husband, Our President, FDR, was inspired by her ideas.
As well he should.
Categorically, in this 77-year-old’s life, without a close second, Eleanor Roosevelt is the greatest statesman in my life. And there were quite a few great ones, like Dwight David Eisenhower, Martin Luther King, Willi Brandt. (Bilingual in German, I will tell his story sometime.)
Eleanor Roosevelt created the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the time of the founding of The United Nations, and I was alive at the time, in 1948, the General Assembly adopted it:
Preamble
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,
* * *
Article 1
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.
Article 2
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.
Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
Article 4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
Article 5
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 6
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
Article 7
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
Article 8
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
https://erpapers.columbian.gwu.edu/struggle-human-rights-1948
https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
https://2001-2009.state.gov/documents/organization/109989.pdf
https://www.fdrlibrary.org/human-rights
The Declaration itself has 30 Articles, and I urge you to read them.
If, after death, I was at the feet of Eleanor Roosevelt and experiencing her deep wisdom of humanity, that would be The Beatific Vision that Dante celebrated.
I urge you to read From the Left — Carol L. Clark, especially today’s column.
Today, what causes me the deepest sorrow is the terror wrought by hooded, masked, body-armored, automatic-weaponed thuggery of ICE.
The practices of ICE are symbolic of the nihilism of the current administration.
Contrast today’s cynicism and human degradation with the ideals and practices of the greatest Statesman of our time, and, in her company, other great Statesmen, such as those I named, above.
Which brings me to my ‘Stack friend, Kate Morgan Reade.
This is not the first, but this is one of the wittiest entries of Kate Morgan Reade on today’s situation, which I urge you to read, shake your head in shame at the current situation, and meanwhile enjoy a hearty, cleansing dose of satire and laughter:
In today’s Sunday Missive of the Verbihund Café (i.e., Kate Morgan Reade is a Word-Hound), I will not steal her thunder, but ask you to read fully and enjoy:
Kate Morgan Reade displays some of the subtlety of Stephen Colbert,
Speaking of which, my third reference is from someone mentioned twice in comments to Kate Morgan Reade’s post, today, namely, a must read tribute to Stephen Colbert, along with . . . certain sentiments about CBS and Paramount, Jeff Tiedrich, who says today’s post . . .
this is going to be my closing message for the foreseeable future:
practice self-care. do what you need to do to keep sane. if that means you need to disengage with my daily posts for a while, I get it. this community of ours will still be here when you return.
to all the people who have signed on in the days since the election, welcome aboard. settle in as we all try to deal with the shitfuckery that’s ahead of us.
we are all in this together, and we are all here for each other.
Read the bitterness we face, when cowards curtail satire in fear of the iron-fist of the right:
Jeff Tiedrich’s “Blue Notes” postings can be found here:
https://bsky.app/profile/jefftiedrich.bsky.social
It is often good to point outward, to friends, and my strong desire is for my readers (both of you) to read the literature at the links.
Reading these articles just makes me want to cry. These principles and ideals are now an impossible dream, tilting at windmills. It shouldn't be like this.
My erudite friend, Armand. You are such a shining light of reason and hope, cutting through the dark world of this time by highlighting the convictions of Eleanor Roosevelt—indeed, one of the greatest leaders of the twentieth century.
Thank you for the referral to Carol's Substack!
I look forward to learning about Willi Brandt!
I am verklempt by your words, and remain profoundly grateful for your friendship, my very fine friend! Thank you! 🌷