Some Interesting questions about rights and things …!

Last week was the 60th Anniversary for the Universal Declaration for Human Rights. Sixty years and where are we at today.

This weekend a survey of Canadians was done and guess what – as proud Canadians we did not even know our own countries political structure – an example of questions was - When asked if they get to elect the Prime Minister – they responded “Yes”. (Not based on the ballot I seen in the election a couple of months ago.)

Some scary results clearly demonstrated that most Canadians do not know – and may not even care about their political structure, what our democracy looks like, what our constitutions says, what is really in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms…?

This is just some thoughts on the issues that make one go hmmmm…

Do we defend rights that we do not know we have?

Are human rights for me different then the rights of an individual who may be living in a socially different culture and economy?

Has the human rights agenda driven policies completely ignored because we live in a country of privilege and it is easier to turn away from those things we do not want to see?

How many Canadian even know what the Charter of Right and Freedoms are?

How do I as an Aboriginal person – make others understand what we are working for when they have no value for what we already have?

Do we – as Canadians – not have a responsibility to know who we are, how we are structured and the rights that we apparently hold so dear? In fact, I bet because of American literature, media and news – most Canadians know more about the American Declaration of Independence then they do about our own governing documents!

Where are our educational institutions in teaching about the Canadian system of governance, policy and law?

Just one of those cold days contemplating …. Hmmm!