Denying Human Rights: A How-To Guide Part 4

This is the fourth in a series of posts that come from a paper I wrote for my English class.
The paper is long so, I decided to cut it into smaller pieces and post it over the next few days.
Consequently, as you read any of the posts on any given day, there may be a contextual flow of thought that is not readily perceived.

Simply scroll down to find the beginning.

Please enjoy.

Denying Human Rights: A How-To Guide (part IV)

Since science has given us the tremendous discovery of the double helix and genome sequence, we can use DNA testing as the foundation of our genetic category.

With DNA testing we can now answer many questions. For example, if blood is found at the scene of a crime, it can be determined whether it belongs to the victim or someone else. If there is a suspect in custody, this same testing can help verify or contradict his/her alibi.

Another great example exists in the field of anthropology. When bones are discovered that have testable DNA remaining in them, it can be determined whether they are human or animal. In fact, DNA testing is now being used to confirm and sometimes contradict accepted evolutionary theories regarding pathways from lower forms of hominid species to humans.

DNA testing provides the most accurate way of determining whether a being is a human being or not and is 99.99% effective.

Denying Human Rights: A How-To Guide III

This is the third in a series of posts that come from a paper I wrote for my English class.
The paper is seven or eight pages long, so, I decided to cut it into smaller pieces and post it over the next few days.
Consequently, as you read any of the posts on any given day, there may be a contextual flow of thought that is not readily perceived.

I encourage you, however, to keep reading (and sometimes re-reading) the subsequent posts (and prior posts) as it will become clearer as you go.

Please enjoy.

Denying Human Rights: A How-To Guide (part III)

Two questions must be answered here:

The first is, “What is a human being?” This might sound like a strange question to ask but there is much dispute on this topic as it pertains to the question of human rights. Once we have answered the question about which beings will be classified as human beings, we come to the next question:

“Should each and every one of these human beings be granted these two fundamental rights?” Or, another way of asking the question might be: “Under what circumstances can these rights be denied?” Once again, this may seem like an odd question, since, as we define which beings are and aren’t human beings, one might think that the rights simply fall into place but this also is a topic of debate among people and even in countries with a high value of and commitment to human rights, there seem to be times when these rights are denied.

Let’s answer these questions.
The first question is the easiest to answer in my opinion. I suggest we use the two criteria which scientifically and conclusively leave no room for doubt as to which beings are human beings. Let’s call these two criteria the taxonomic and the genetic systems of categorizing beings. These two systems of classification share much in common but come to their conclusions in different ways.

According to the taxonomic system, a human being is that which is in the kingdom animalia; phylum chordata; class mammalia; order primates; family hominidae; genus homo; species homo sapiens; and subspecies homo sapiens sapiens. According to science, only one type of being fulfills all of those categories at once; a human being.

Denying Human Rights: A How-To Guide II

This is the second in a series of posts that come from a paper I wrote for my English class that I wanted to share.
The paper is seven or eight pages long, but that is too much for your average blog post.
So, I decided to cut it into smaller pieces and post it over the next few days. Consequently, as you read any of the posts on any given day, there may be a contextual flow of thought that is not readily perceived.
I encourage you, however, to keep reading (and sometimes re-reading) the subsequent posts (and prior posts) as it will become clearer as you go.

Please enjoy.

Denying Human Rights: A How-To Guide (part II)

However, if we are to continue this discussion of the most effective way to deny fundamental human rights to those who should not have them, it would be critical to understand what fundamental human rights are!
For example, do all human beings have the right to government funded health care? How about clean drinking water? Is it true that all human beings have the right to not be enslaved by other human beings? What about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? What about other rights such as: freedom of speech, democracy, a minimum wage, citizenship in the country of your choice, cost of living pay increases, internet access, a trial by a jury of one’s peers, shelter, clothing, freedom of choice, or dozens of other possibilities?
I have heard it said that the most basic and fundamental human rights are the right to life and the right to be treated with dignity and that if only those are granted, 99% of all the evils of the world would be eliminated. Whether this is true or not, I am not sure, but for purposes of discussion and in the interest of simplicity I will assume that human rights don’t get much more fundamental than that.
Nevertheless, this is not enough, for, while we have come up with some type of workable definition for what the most basic and fundamental of all human rights are, we still have not determined who gets them and how to deny them.