From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Shulamith Koenig</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:pdhre@igc.org">pdhre@igc.org</a>></span><br><br>The
only point I see missing in the rendition of this Reader on representative democracy (No.282) is that, if it
is in the underground that we fight for human rights, we will never get
there. It is only when ALL people know about and own human rights that
democracy will truly be a delivery system of human rights.<br>
By definition, democracy is the voice of ALL the people .. In some, very
few countries , you are fined if you do not vote. In others, hardly 50%
do, because they do not see voting as their <br><div class="gmail_quote"><div>
</div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><div>Inalienable human right and the power it can give them.</div><div>
The Reader could thus more optimistically have said, to close: </div><div>It
is imperative that we launch a world campaign for all to know and own
human rights. The newly gained knowledge will allow them a more
critical thinking at the time of voting, i.e.,being more conscious they
are charting their own future. <br>
</div><div>When advocating for such learning at the community level, I always say: </div><div>When
candidates run for office and come to a village to gain votes the first
question they should be asked by the crowd must be:What are you going
to do in your high position for our human rights? <br>
</div><div>Without such deeper knowledge of human rights we will</div><div>never, never have a real democracy and break through the vicious cycle of humiliation as 'democratically elected' <br></div><div>politicians
throw sand in the eyes of those who innocently elect them to office or
those who never voted, because they did not know their human rights. The
latter must become the guide and the framework of every democracy, if
it wants to call itself one . </div>
<div> </div><div>Shulamit Koenig<br></div></div></blockquote><div> PDHRE<br>People's Movement for Human Rights Learning<br>New York<br>Email: <a href="mailto:pdhre@igc.org" target="_blank"><span>pdhre@igc.org</span></a><span class="gD"></span><br>
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