Part 1. Rule of Law
I’d like to look at three stages in the emergence of civilization among humans.
My look is bounded by my knowledge and my knowledge is restricted to the Anglo-Saxon world in general and the British parliamentary tradition in particular.
Sorry. That’s all I know and there’s no time any longer to study at greater length. This must therefore be an opinion piece.
The usual milestone setting this ball of democratic civilization in motion in the English-speaking world is said to be Magna Carta, signed in 1215, and its reaffirmation and expansion to include a sitting Parliament in the Oxford Agreements of 1258.
Magna Carta contained an agreement to renounce the rule of force in favor of the rule of law. This was a basic shift in principle and took centuries to integrate and make part of the social fabric. Kings, queens, and aspirants were still murdering each other centuries after the signing of Magna Carta. (1)
The Oxford Agreements caused another great shift in context. Now the vision was put forth of how the very rules of law which would supplant the rule of force were to arise. A parliament, which expanded to include not only lords, but squires, burghers, and, eventually, women, now wrote the laws which were to supplant the rule of force.
This parliamentary and lawful philosophy of political life has expanded through the centuries but the use of force persists. It’s been said that a major reason for this is the failure to include women in the total process of life on this planet. Global society lacks their calming influence.
Part 2. Human Rights
Its progress was very slow. Did it need to be so?
Not when the far-seeing among the population distinguished out the principle of “human rights.” (2)
The American Founding Fathers enunciated these principles. There were deemed to be certain inalienable rights that “We the People” have, certain human rights. The Constitution and Bill of Rights could be considered a second Magna Carta.
While still only a step along the overall path, (3) the emergence of agreement over rights respected in every human being was the first vote of this world for total inclusivity. It had the potential to shatter most ceilings on being and achievement.
The initial impetus of the French Revolution was to assert the power of the people over the power of force, but even that came through the use of force.
It showed the unstoppable desire of the people for freedom, a lesson that persisted but was nearly lost in the early Twentieth Century. And nearly lost again in the Cold War. And nearly lost again closer to today. OK, today.
In 1945, after nearly annihilating ourselves, the world agreed to what some of those human rights might be. This became what one might consider the third Magna Carta, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
It’s my impression that human rights are not observed in most countries. I sometimes consider the places where they (reputedly) are to be islands in a sea of repression. Repression of women and children primarily, as one would expect from people who use force (expend the least force to make the most difference). But repression of men as well, often making entire populations suffer (Armenians, Tutsi, Ruhingya, Gypsies, Jews, Bahai, Syrians, Yemenis) .
Part 3. Universal Law
Something about human rights did not result in a permanent shift in our world.
Well, nothing as long as we stay within a certain realm.
Einstein said we could not solve some problems thinking from the same level from which we created them. And that’s so true. So far I’ve been staying within a box called “empirical materialism.” (4) But I’m now about to take a step out of it.
To find the answer, we have to introduce into the equation something ignored so far – the fact that there are universal laws that operate in the universe.
If we act in accordance with them, our lives blossom. If we act against them, we get to experience whatever the consequences of those actions are. Both outcomes are instances of cause and effect or karma.
But wait a minute. Did I not just state the operation of a universal law? I did.
Human rights lay down a framework of ethical and moral conduct. But universal laws go farther. They describe how this universe operates, this learning experience we’re having, which is destined to awaken us to who we are (God). These laws are powerful and direct. (5)
This isn’t the place to go into universal law. Perhaps I should leave that to Kathleen.
But it is the place to point at the major shift that’s destined to happened as our group consciousness rises.
We’ll more and more understand the universal laws, just as we understand the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. And we’ll seem to be alchemists, compared to the way we used to be. Life will improve dramatically and in every respect.
Respect for universal law is the next major consciousness shift in a world that:
- agreed to the rule of law over the use of force,
- agreed to rule by a parliament of all the people, charged with making those laws,
- agreed to power residing in the people,
- set out the inalienable rights of all humans,
and now contemplates how the world – and the universe – works.
Footnotes
(1) World War II proves the the depths of depravity human beings are capable of. In many countries to this day the rule of force persists. Whole populations are kept under control by cultural police who send “transgressors” to prison (Iran). Whole populations are attacked and forced to flee the country (Myanmar). Whole populations are macheted to death (Rwanda). Genocides are more discrete but just as complete, justified by theories of Anglo-Saxon/white man’s superiority (Canada).
(2) We don’t yet extend it to the animal kingdom or the planet.
(3) Are we alone?
(4) The paradigm that only what we can see, hear, feel, touch, etc. is real.
(5) I once had a sports car – a Triumph TR4. I drove it across Canada and was constantly having to bring it into repair shops because it putted along.
Finally one repairman reached under the hood and grabbed a small pipe perhaps three inches long. He said, “There’s your problem. It recirculates your air. You don’t want your air to be recirculated” and threw it away.
My car worked perfectly after that.
The car with the pipe on it is human rights compared to the car without the pipe, which is universal law.
The car works, but not very well.