Post by Kiwi Frontline on Jun 17, 2020 18:25:24 GMT 12
REMEMBER ALL OUR FOREFATHERS: PROTECT MONUMENTS TO CAPTAIN JOHN HAMILTON AND TE RAUPARAHA – By John Robinson
EQUALITY
We inherit much wisdom from the past, with many directions for a caring society. One key principle is the recognition of the inherent equality of all people, from birth, regardless of status, wealth and position, race or gender.
This is fundamental to the Treaty of Waitangi, which asserted that ‘now we are one’ and gave to all New Zealanders the rights and duties of British citizens.
It was clearly stated in the USA Declaration of Independence, allowing no room for doubt. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal …”
That reference to ‘man’ with its possible gender bias is tidied up in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, where the first article is “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”.
Let us recognise that truth and live by that principle. When any Maori claims a special position and special rights, speak the words of the Barber of Seville. “Because you are a great noble, you think you are a great genius! Nobility, a fortune, a rank, appointments to office: all this makes a man so proud! What did you do to earn all this? You took the trouble to get born – nothing more. Moreover, you’re really a pretty ordinary fellow.” (The Marriage of Figaro, Pierre Beaumarchais, 1778)
Accident of birth should never bring privilege. Law should be blind to ancestry or ethnicity. No one group should be set up as arbiter of our thoughts, as in much of New Zealand law. We must stand up to vigilante actions, which have become all too common and even consented to by authority......
community.scoop.co.nz/2020/06/remember-all-our-forefathers-protect-monuments-to-captain-john-hamilton-and-te-rauparaha/
EQUALITY
We inherit much wisdom from the past, with many directions for a caring society. One key principle is the recognition of the inherent equality of all people, from birth, regardless of status, wealth and position, race or gender.
This is fundamental to the Treaty of Waitangi, which asserted that ‘now we are one’ and gave to all New Zealanders the rights and duties of British citizens.
It was clearly stated in the USA Declaration of Independence, allowing no room for doubt. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal …”
That reference to ‘man’ with its possible gender bias is tidied up in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, where the first article is “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”.
Let us recognise that truth and live by that principle. When any Maori claims a special position and special rights, speak the words of the Barber of Seville. “Because you are a great noble, you think you are a great genius! Nobility, a fortune, a rank, appointments to office: all this makes a man so proud! What did you do to earn all this? You took the trouble to get born – nothing more. Moreover, you’re really a pretty ordinary fellow.” (The Marriage of Figaro, Pierre Beaumarchais, 1778)
Accident of birth should never bring privilege. Law should be blind to ancestry or ethnicity. No one group should be set up as arbiter of our thoughts, as in much of New Zealand law. We must stand up to vigilante actions, which have become all too common and even consented to by authority......
community.scoop.co.nz/2020/06/remember-all-our-forefathers-protect-monuments-to-captain-john-hamilton-and-te-rauparaha/