Like the United Nations itself, the UDHR was born amid the ashes of a World War which took tens of millions of lives not just in combat but also through unspeakable acts of inhumanity – systematic state-controlled genocide of Jews, Gypsies, Poles and other ethnic groups, mass political imprisonments by Germany, the Soviet Union, Japan, and even the United States, atrocities beyond count and description from one corner of the globe to another. It left the ruling class shaken and disturbed and willing to draft and adopt a declaration that addressed the centuries of abuse towards the bulk of humanity by their rulers. As the 1950s witnessed the disassembly of the 19th Century imperial order once and for all, the UDHR would become a foundation for new constitutions and guarantees of human rights in many of the new countries that were established.
But, like the UN itself, as time wore on, “human rights” became a cudgel for political pressure, a cover for avoiding meaningful social reform in both inudstrialized and developing countries alike, and finally a toxic piece of propaganda turned against itself as a justification for a return to government-sanctioned torture, the resurgence of genocide rebranded as “ethnic cleansing”, and the abandonment of any pretense of spreading the goals of human dignity and equality. Today, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights exists more as the hollow cry of our grandparents’ ghosts than of any genuine mark of humanity. History has proven that even the most honorable intentions of the greatest leaders are readily and easily tossed aside like garbage when the exigiencies of political expediency demand it. And history has shown that even our nation, to whom the rest of the world could always look for the inspiration to make the tenets of the UDHR come true, would eventually succumb and choose to violate our own foundational beliefs.
The 20th Century was the single most violent, atrocious, inhumane period of human history, and midway through it the recognition of our own depravity became too much to bear to the extent that we would create this declaration of highest and most basic principles. Now, another half century past, we have made our real intentions painfully, violently, hopelessly clear for all time. We found the path and chose to turn the other way. Our heirs will judge us accordingly.
Seeger’s causes have been many and varied throughout his life, beginning with the labor movement in the 1920s and 1930s, and these days with environmental issues, but every single one of his causes has ultimately boiled down to making the world a better, more tolerant, more peaceful place for everyone. His critics are not without merit as they point out his involvement with Communist politics in the ’30s and ’40s and the desire of his supprters and Seeger himself to downplay that time, but, like many who got involved with the Communist Party in the United States in those years, he clearly did so out of the idealism that the Soviet Communists promoted overseas and, more relevantly, out of reaction to the gathering storm of Fascism spreading across Europe. The decades after World War II and Seeger’s unmatched devotion to peace and freedom surely outweigh the complicated political positions many were forced to choose during a dangerous time.
The solicitation I got said that the group has found a member of Congress to consider being the the official submitter of Pete Seeger’s name to the Nobel Comittee (not surprisingly, Congresswoman Lee represents Berkeley, California and surrounding towns; too bad they couldn’t get Mike Capuano to join in, given Seeger’s close ties to Cambridge and Harvard). They want people to submit comments to Congresswoman Lee’s office to sway her to do it, which will pave the path for the actual submission. Meanwhile, they’ve collected nearly 20,000 signatures for an online petition to send to the Nobel Prize Committee to try to convnice them to actually give Seeger the award (the original goal of the petition was to convince the American Friends Service Committee to nominate Seeger, but with the congressional rep on board they can right for the judges). I signed it, but if you want to go a little further you can make a donation to the group that’s doing all this lobbying, although I would bet that Pete Seeger himself would prefer that you make a donation to some group in your own community that actively works toward a better world.
I really hope they pull this off. There are undoubtedly many people in the world doing fine work for the causes of peace, justice and equality, but Pete Seeger has lived his whole life for it and truly deserves the recognition.
