4 ms·

> Democracy is superior not because some founders wrote some scripture, but because of its moral and rational foundation, that all are created equal, all have u

> Democracy is superior not because some founders wrote some scripture, but because of its moral and rational foundation, that all are created equal, all have universal, inalienable rights that include liberty, That is a really great formulation of the imago dei, image of God, doctrine. > and thus nobody else has the right to tell them what to do without their consent. And this is a generalisation of a principle that is downstream of the English yeomanry, of freeborn men who can kill a knight. To see an Anglo proclaiming the universal destiny of all humanity to follow the Anglo culture is just such a stirring thing.

mmooss 1y ago
Enemies of universal human rights - of freedom - throw everything they can think of at it, including this thin argument common to them: That it's just a cultural thing, like certain kinds of beer. I don't know that the idea was invented in Anglo culture - what about the rest of Europe? What about so many other places in the world that have rights of different kinds? It seems anglocentric to think it was invented in the anglo world. Regardless, universal human rights has been embraced by cultures all over the world, with the exceptions almost always where thugs have stopped them (and people who already have it quit and deny all their personal responsibilities to their communities). They are embraced in all of the Americas, East Asia (Japan, South Korea, China (anywhere people have an option, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tiananmen Square; and China was democracizing before Xi), South Asia, Europe, parts of Africa, etc etc. People fight and die for freedom everywhere. Universal rights (which include democracy) also provide freedom, peace, and prosperity on levels never seen in history. And they are self-evident, as Jefferson says: By what argument do you get to tell people in other cultures what to do? It should be there choice, not yours; their self-determination; their freedom; their right.
chairmansteve 1y ago
"To see an Anglo proclaiming the universal destiny of all humanity to follow the Anglo culture is just such a stirring thing". Very woke, good for you. I guess you forgot about ancient Athens, Rome, medieval Iceland, Venice. There are many other examples: https://franklin.uga.edu/news/stories/2022/origins-democracy-americas https://franklin.uga.edu/news/stories/2022/origins-democracy... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_democracy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_democracy
keybored 1y ago
We don’t really need a foundation for democracy. Maybe without it people will not get hung up on bringing mysticism to the table.

mmooss 1y ago

Enemies of universal human rights - of freedom - throw everything they can think of at it, including this thin argument common to them: That it's just a cultural thing, like certain kinds of beer. I don't know that the idea was invented in Anglo culture - what about the rest of Europe? What about so many other places in the world that have rights of different kinds? It seems anglocentric to think it was invented in the anglo world. Regardless, universal human rights has been embraced by cultures all over the world, with the exceptions almost always where thugs have stopped them (and people who already have it quit and deny all their personal responsibilities to their communities). They are embraced in all of the Americas, East Asia (Japan, South Korea, China (anywhere people have an option, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tiananmen Square; and China was democracizing before Xi), South Asia, Europe, parts of Africa, etc etc. People fight and die for freedom everywhere. Universal rights (which include democracy) also provide freedom, peace, and prosperity on levels never seen in history. And they are self-evident, as Jefferson says: By what argument do you get to tell people in other cultures what to do? It should be there choice, not yours; their self-determination; their freedom; their right.

chairmansteve 1y ago

"To see an Anglo proclaiming the universal destiny of all humanity to follow the Anglo culture is just such a stirring thing". Very woke, good for you. I guess you forgot about ancient Athens, Rome, medieval Iceland, Venice. There are many other examples: https://franklin.uga.edu/news/stories/2022/origins-democracy-americas https://franklin.uga.edu/news/stories/2022/origins-democracy... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_democracy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_democracy

keybored 1y ago

We don’t really need a foundation for democracy. Maybe without it people will not get hung up on bringing mysticism to the table.