Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Essay Example

The two articles that best represent the human nature are Articles 1 and 19. Article 1 states, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” (United Nations). Article 1 emphasizes the fact that all human beings are born as masters of their own destiny and not as someone’s property. It is a human nature to desire control over one’s life and not lose freedom of actionl by being someone’s slave. Humans also desire equal rights because it appeals to their sense of fairness and justice. One cannot control where he/she is born, thus, it is not fair to discriminate against someone in terms of rights on the basis of circumstances surrounding his/her birth.

Human beings also believe what separates them from other species is their higher intelligence levels. As a result, they do not only strive for freedom of action but also freedom of reasoning because it helps them advance the collective knowledge of their kind. Humans do not like to be forced to believe in something that may not appeal to their sense of reasoning. In order to believe in something, they have to be convinced in their own ways. Humans also believe they do not exist in isolation but as part of communities which is why it is important for them to develop reliable relationships. In order to understand humans, it is important to pay attention to Article 1 because free will is arguably the most sought-after right by humans and may generate a strong reaction from them if the right is restricted in any manner.

Article 19 states, “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” (United Nations). This article again makes it clear that humans do not like to be told how to live or what to believe. It does not matter whether what they believe is right or wrong for as long as they believe what they want to believe. Humans are also curious creatures, thus, they are continuously seeking news ideas and perceptions. Once again they seek freedom to choose their own channels of information and ideas. Articles 1 and 19 make it clear that humans seek and value freedom in all shapes and forms and respond with a strong reaction where their freedoms are limited or threatened.

Two articles that misrepresent human nature are Articles 5 and 12. Article 5 states, “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” (United Nations). While humans do champion ideas that seem fair in theory, they rarely support those ideas without exceptions. They would not hesitate from supporting restriction of rights under Article 5 for those they don’t like or perceive as threats to their interests. Thus, humans are willing to ignore rights of others if their real or perceived interests are threatened. Article 12 states, “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.” (United Nations). The problem with rights under this article is that humans believe it is sometimes justifiable to limit individual rights in the greater interests of the society. Law enforcement agencies often invade personal space of citizens, just on the basis of suspicion. Similarly, the rights under this article also conflict with another right valued by humans which is freedom of speech. Freedom of speech means personal opinions do not have to be factually accurate even they attack someone’s reputation and it is especially true of public figures.

These articles misrepresent human nature to the aliens because they make it seem like these rights are absolute in nature while they are not. The articles also assume there is no conflict between rights mentioned in the articles while in reality different rights may be in conflict with each other, depending upon the circumstances.

Work Cited

United Nations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 16 October 2013 <http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/>.