Dear Banjo,

"Life and death" are fundamental human rights."

Death is the destiny of all organisms except those who split to form new organisms.

Life is a characteristic of all living things.

I don't think there are fundamental human rights. There are only rights which a particular society allows to members of that society. In some societies your social class, religion and other attributes determine what rights you have.

How did you determine what is a fundamental human right?

Here's my take on it,
human beings have a fundamental right to life because they possess it and they also have a fundamental right to defend it as does every other
animal.

Just ask a tiger in the jungle or creep up on a kangaroo and belt him with a stick.

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Dear David,

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« How did you determine what is a fundamental human right? »
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I didn’t. In my opinion, nobody can “determine” what is a fundamental human right. It is “attributed” by nature. It is inalienable without modifying the individual.

I see a fundamental human right as one which is intrinsic to a person as an individual human being, such as the right to life and death, freedom of thought, expression, etc. I see it as a natural right - the ability of the individual to exercise his own free will in respect of his own natural, biological abilities – those with which nature endowed him - without or despite any outside influence.

I consider that it is the duty of society to guarantee the respect of the individual’s fundamental human rights and to facilitate their exercise.

This, of course, is my personal vision - no doubt somewhat different from that of the United Nations and others.

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Dear Banjo Paterson,

Thomas Jefferson wrote:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed"

Since Jefferson was a Deist the Creator referred to is really nature and not the God of the Bible. Read "Nature's God" by Matthew Stewart for the philosophical underpinnings of the American Revolution.

You wrote: "In my opinion, nobody can “determine” what is a fundamental human right. It is “attributed” by nature. It is inalienable without modifying the individual."

Your position is essentially the same as Thomas Jefferson as to the source of rights. However, he also maintained that government is necessary to secure those rights.

I differ from both of you. That could be the subject of several essays. Maybe I will write them.

On a lighter note I hope you all survived Abbott's immortal words at Gallipoli yesterday. Our great helmsman made himself an ANZAC By Association when he he uttered
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/heres-the-touching-speech-prime-minister-tony-abbott-gave-at-the-dawn-service-in-gallipoli-2015-4 :

"...they became the founding heroes of modern Australia.

"... they faced the hardest possible test and they did not flinch."

"...Today, all of us who have not been tested in war salute all of those who have. Most of us have never worn our country’s uniform."

"...But we are the better for those who have."

"...The official historian, Charles Bean, said of the original Anzacs: “their story rises as it will always rise, above the mists of ages, a monument to great hearted men; and, for their nation a possession forever”."

Yes, they are us; and when we strive enough for the right things, we can be more like them.

So much has changed in one hundred years but not the things that really matter.

Duty, selflessness, moral courage: always these remain the mark of a decent human being.

They did their duty; now, let us do ours.

They gave us an example; now, let us be worthy of it.

They were as good as they could be in their time; now, let us be as good as we can be in ours."

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Dear David,

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« Your position is essentially the same as Thomas Jefferson as to the source of rights »
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That is an interesting and, should I say, flattering comparison. However, as you rightly observe : « Since Jefferson was a Deist the Creator referred to is really nature and not the God of the Bible ».

Another important difference, in my mind, is that Jefferson mentions “life” as an unalienable right, but not “death”, probably reflecting his religious beliefs. Whereas I consider that the process of life and death is an evolutionary continuum. It is the process which is a fundamental human right, not just one phase of the process.

Life and death are inseparable. There can be no life without death and no death without life. They are two sides of the same coin. If life is an inalienable right, which apparently we both consider it is, then death is too.

That’s an unavoidable fact which, apparently, is not compatible with Jefferson’s concept of God.
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« I differ from both of you. That could be the subject of several essays. Maybe I will write them. »
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You have wet my appetite, David. I know that in addition to your analytic qualities, you also have an excellent synthetic mind. Couldn’t you give me some inkling as to what you are alluding to?

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