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The Human Story - An unbalanced World

Updated on August 30, 2012

The Human Story - An unbalanced World

At the turn of the 1800s there was a global human population of around 1,000,000,000 people. It had taken the evolution of our species many thousands of years to get to this level and there were no signs of the population slowing down as humans had developed into the dominant species on the planet. By the year 1900 there were close to 1,600,000,000 people alive and the increase in population seemed to following a relatively simple graphical line. Every hundred years the population would increase by fifty to sixty percent.

Then in 1950 things changed, the population growth formula that had worked perfectly for thousands of years was thrown out the metaphorical window. If we assumed the population grew by sixty percent over the 1900s century, as history would indicate it should have, that would have meant the population in 2000 should have been around 2,560,000,000. In reality it was nearer 6,000,000,000. In the first ten years of the 2000’s the population has almost increased by 1/6th!

This rapid increase in population has really affected a lot of things on this planet; but we, living our comfortable lives in the west are not exposed to what damage it has done. We forget how others in the world are and we forget that they are no less than us as people. We forget that everybody on the planet does not have all the luxuries we have available to us and we don’t realise how many people are on the cusp of death every minute of every day because they can’t even afford the basic tools needed for survival.

Resources

With the massive increase in population on the planet there is a huge issue with resources. There is only a finite amount of space on this planet, and only so much can be produced. Food and Water is a huge issue as there is only so much land food can grow on. Eventually it will get to a space where there is not enough land for people to live, and to grow enough food to sustain the population. Water is another issue. When the population spreads even further, how can you ensure everyone gets fresh water? Where will all the fresh water come from?

Natural commodities such as Oil are being used at an alarming rate. Forests are being torn down which are vital for our planet to survive.

Our growing population is slowly killing our planet, and there is really nothing that can be done until either the population decreases or more resources are found on another planet.

Control

Before the development of the modern society, in the ancient world, there was no international or national concept of “Human rights”. Different cultures would decide what they thought were right, and would inflict damage onto others to ensure their people would get the best of everything. It was every community for themselves; and there was no way to beat the system. If you happened to be the wrong race, and be caught up in the wrong part of the world your life would be worse than the life of an animal. Slavery was everywhere, people were sold without any moral ramifications and rulers were not only politically in charge, but often seen as higher beings.

Fortunately things have changed, and a huge balance of power and responsibility has taken place in this world. The globe should no longer a place where you have to hide in your own community, or kneel before your leader. People are wiser and smarter and basic human rights have been introduced. Unfortunately this has not taken shape everywhere in the world as yet and until it does the world can never be a happy harmonious place.

Adolf Hitler. The leader of the German Nazi party.
Adolf Hitler. The leader of the German Nazi party.

Only seventy years ago Adolf Hitler was rounding up any person who did not match his vision of a perfectly designed human being and savagely torturing, and killing them. Concentration camps were the new home of many and humanity was really on a cusp of darkness.

Rosa Parks. The lady who sat in the front section of the bus.
Rosa Parks. The lady who sat in the front section of the bus.

Only sixty years ago Rosa Parks created a huge travesty in the United States by sitting at the front of a bus. Being an African American, she was treated like a second class citizen and was expected to sit at the back on a bus. The front seats were reserved for white people. Rosa Parks sat on a front seat on December 1st 1955. This action and many others like it led to be a balanced and equal America for all people, and signified the end to a racist dark part of human’s past.

Nelson Mandela. A key political figure in South Africa's recovery from the Apartheid.
Nelson Mandela. A key political figure in South Africa's recovery from the Apartheid.

Between 1948 and 1994 South Africa faced the Apartheid. A time where race divided a country into two distinct groups, a time where racism dictated your very nationality. White Supremacy ruled the country and other races were treated brutally and treated sub humanly.

Pigmies refer to people who are naturally shorter and smaller then the average human.
Pigmies refer to people who are naturally shorter and smaller then the average human.

As recently as in the Congo Civil War (1998 – 2003) racism was clear in our modern society. Pigmies were treated like animals, and were chased, killed and even eaten.

If in the last one hundred years there are so many examples or clear racism, and infliction of sub-human rights on certain groups; how can we ever say we are an all equal and just society?

Food & Water. The most basic of human rights.
Food & Water. The most basic of human rights.

Basic Human Rights

People living in the west have huge misconception about human rights. We think it is our right to get money from the state to survive. We think it is our right to have a new wide screen television, a pack of cigarettes every day, or even a new car. These are not rights. These are luxuries.

Basic functions provided by the state, including free education for all, national health care systems and trash collection from your house every week do not even classify as human rights. We argue and debate about how often our rubbish is collected from our house and how much we should pay for health care but we don’t ever consider that millions of people live without these infrastructures around them.

A basic human right is part of the very core of our existence. It is something that is so deeply engrained into our society that we do not even realise certain people do not share the same rights.

A basic human right is not to be persecuted for something you cannot change. This may be gender, race, age, size etc.

A basic human right is the ability to have a nutritious meal and not starve.

A basic human right is to have access to clean water and not die of thirst.

A basic human right is to have a roof over our heads and not have to sleep on the streets in the blistering sun, or freezing winters every night.

A basic human right is to fall in love with whoever we want.

A basic human right is to choose your own career path and have the ability to learn.

A basic human right is to not be forced into slavery or forced labour.

These are the things that are important in the world; and these are the things that really matter. Isn’t it more important that we fight and strive for everyone on the planet to share these basic rights instead of trying to squeeze more and more out for ourselves? Isn’t it better to try and give everyone fresh drinking water if it means we have to pay a few more dollars a year into our health care systems?

There are millions of charities around the world trying to help people who still live in these conditions. According to the World Bank, there are around 1.29 billion people alive who are living in some sort of poverty. Out of a global population of around seven billion today, this is a staggering 18% of the world. The world is slowly trying to combat this crisis but governments can only do so much whilst we try and take what we want as well. We as people need to urge our governments to do more. We need to push them to help others and we need to dig into our own pockets to help the less fortunate.

We need to stop complaining about our own human rights, when other people on this planet do not even have one human right to cling on to.

Do you think the world will ever have a basic set of human rights available to everybody?

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