What it means to have rights

How do freedom and rights impact on my life?
Here’s one day of my life:
Last night – watched the news, followed by what is called a half hour of post-news “current affairs” where matters affecting people are presented e.g. supermarkets “ripping off” people. I could have watched the live broadcast of the Opposition leader’s speech in reply to the government’s budget proposals, but chose not to.
Good night’s sleep. No fear of being invaded. There is a reasonable effective Police Force to keep the peace and order.
Morning – watched the news briefly. Options of stations to tune into. And foreign news as well. Freedom of the press. Late morning - SBS broadcasts news from foreign-language stations such as Italian, Greek, Indonesian, Chinese, etc.
Drove to work – listened to talk-back radio on people’s opinion of the budget and other issues of public interest. Many stations. Popular with listeners and advertisers, and the presenters are highly paid.
On the train, everyone is equal – black, chocolate or white. People may give up their seats to a pregnant woman, elderly people, adults with young children. Some people bring their bicycles. Prams are common after the peak rush hour.
If I have a seat on the train, I may get to read my papers which had been delivered to my home at about 5.30am. The trains are very crowded these days because more people are catching the trains due to high petrol prices as well as high employment. The public transport is a big issue and the state government has come in for a lot of criticisms from the public.
Yesterday, I sent an email to the State Shadow Minister thanking him for raising an issue about my workplace in Parliament. I got a brief reply from him on the same afternoon.
Next week, the union has organised a 24 hour strike and we will be meeting for a peaceful rally in front of the office of the bosses.
Afternoon, I am going the reverse direction back home. My trains almost always run on time, which is great. CityRail has a service which emails subscribers if there is any trackwork during the week.
Had enough time to go to the optometrist to replace my new glasses for free because the original one did not do the job (my prescription had changed slightly). There are consumer laws and consumerism is strong in Australia.
My car, which had been parked on the roadside for the whole day, is safe and sound. There is a little traffic jam on the way home, but the flow is smooth. Radio stations give regular updates of traffic movements during peak hours. A helicopter flies around to check on traffic and listeners are encouraged to ring and report traffic jams. Should I go over the speed limit, I will probably be caught by speed cameras. There is no crooked cop waiting to collect bribes, as in some countries.
Listened to the radio station that plays pop music. Switched every now and then to talk-back radio to listen to what people are discussing.
It is dusk. Reached home and did my half hour walk in the dark.
Another day of living in peace and security, with the freedom to go about my business and my life without interference, to be what I want to be. And with the knowledge that I do have rights in this country.

Here’s the Australian’s government explanation of democratic rights and freedom:
Independent judiciary
Robust representative parliamentary institutions
Human rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
The separation of legislative, executive and judicial powers
Constitutional safeguards
The rule of law
A transparent criminal justice system – presumed innocent until proven guilty, can only be detained by a police for a limited period, right to a fair trial, trial by jury, legal aid services
Opposition parties partially funded by the government
Anyone can be held accountable and his/her actions, including the government’s, can be scrutinised
Legislative and legal framework with various acts to protect everybody’s fundamental rights
Many non-governmental organisations exist to promote and protect human rights
Freedom of expression, association, assembly, communication and religion
Freedom of Information Act – right to access information in the possession of the government and its authorities, with some exceptions.
See www.dfat.gov.au/facts/democratic_rights_freedoms.html

Now if you think this kind of system is only fitting for rich western countries, think again. Look at something that was drafted more than 60 years ago and adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in December 1948. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights contains 30 articles covering essentially the same principles of human rights.
We are supposed to have a year long celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Declaration, so it is timely to read it again. See http://www.un.org/rights/ (the link is not working, so you will have to type this URL)

Today, many countries are violating the principles of the UN Declaration and “legitimising” themselves by passing laws which justify their actions. The judiciary is not independent and is influenced by politicians and those with money. The electoral system, even though there is a one person one vote system, is controlled by whoever is in power. Politicians abuse their positions. There is not enough transparency in the actions of those in power and in positions. Corruption is rife because the police force and judiciary are corrupted as well. Autocratic politicians hang on to power and cannot be removed even though they may be strangling the country.

Human rights are still wanting!