The following is an update to my summary of foundational human rights, which was printed in the April 12 and prior editions of the Times-Union letters to the editor page.
In those letters I gave a partial summary of the following fundamental liberties: Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Self-Defense, Freedom of Thought and Inquiry, Freedom of Movement, Freedom of Commerce, Freedom of Self Defense, Freedom of Assembly and Association, Freedom of Communication, Freedom of Property Ownership, Freedom of the Media and Freedom of Self-Ownership.
I would now like to take this opportunity to add another basic human right and what is the most essential right of all- Freedom of Existence. It is the most essential because no person can enjoy life, health, liberty, property and the pursuit of happiness if they are deemed to be unworthy of existence by those who have control of the power to end their brief time among the living and who act upon such power in the pursuit of vile or even noble ambitions whether for the benefit of themselves or the greater good of society.
Partial Summary Of Foundational Human Rights Continued:
1. Freedom of Existence - the right to be free from arbitrary execution, democidal extermination campaigns, infanticide, compulsory abortion and euthanasia.
I would like to give a brief explanation for the term democidal extermination campaigns or democide, which some readers may be unfamiliar with. The definition for democide was previously given in two of my letters to the editor in the Jan. 2 and Jan. 10 2007 editions of the Times-Union. Those letters cited that definition and some of the statistics of political science professor R.J. Rummel in his study of genocide and mass killings by various governments in the 20th century.
Democidal extermination campaigns or democide, which is the intentional and often industrial scale killing of people by a government whether it be its own citizens or foreigners because of their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, language, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, political affiliation, mental or physical handicap, health status, age, public criticism of major social institutions or government officials, statements, policies, and actions, being a member of the "surplus population", being an obstacle to the new political, social, and economic order, misfortune of being a target for recreational killing or a death quota, etc., is the most extreme threat to basic human rights.
The following is excluded from the above definition: deaths of combatants during war, capital punishment deaths, deadly force used against armed civilians who are participating in riots and mob action and collateral damage casualties.
More of my summary to foundational human rights will follow at later dates.
