The Right to Health and Well Being

The Right to Health and Well Being

Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article 25: The Right to Health and Well Being

    • “Everyone has the right to a standard of living¹ adequate for the health² and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
    • Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.”

There is so much packed in this particular UDHR Article that it is difficult to address all in a short blog. This blog will touch on pieces of the Right to Health.

Merriam-Webster defines health as the condition of being sound in body, mind, or spirit; freedom from physical disease or pain; a condition in which someone or something is thriving or doing well².

If we can agree that there are 3 parts to a human being–body, mind and spirit–then, in order to have true healthcare or healing, we would need to consider and address all the parts–the whole–in any medication, treatment or therapy prescribed.

Some things to look at:

    • Are your medical care providers addressing you and/or your family members as whole human beings—body, mind, and spirit?
    • Is your current treatment or therapy getting to the source of the illness or injury resulting in true healing and you thriving and doing well?
    • Do you find yourself going deeper and deeper into the medical system (one doctor after another) or are you healed and thriving?
    • What kinds of things are you putting into your body, mind and spirit? Are they promoting health and healing or are they covering up symptoms, or worse, destructive?
    • Are you surrounded by people who build you up or people who have ways of nullifying³ you–making you feel smaller?
    • What changes do you need to make or actions do you need to take for you to thrive and do well?

Take time to answer the questions above and decide how much responsibility you are willing to take for your own health.

Another key point to consider about health is a famous quote by Greek physician, Hippocrates, “Let food be thy medicine and let medicine be thy food.” Not only does everyone have the right to food but the right to nutritious food so we are able to maintain healthy bodies and minds.

This quickly leads into the need to keep our environment clean (air, water and soil). Without nutrient-dense soil that is free from toxic pesticides and insecticides, our foods have little chance of being “medicine”. Organic foods tend to be more expensive, hence, the standard of living adequate for the health of self and family rises. However, one could argue that if nourishing foods are going into the body, it would reduce the high cost of medical care on the back end.

There is clearly plenty of work to do to bring this human right to life and make a fair and free world for us all. How do you want to help?

¹Standard of living – Standard of living refers to the material basis of well-being, which is reflected in a person’s consumption level. Standard of living of an individual or group of individuals is determined by their access to resources, which comprise of both cash and non-cash income. https://ophi.org.uk/policy/gross-national-happiness-index/
²The derivation or origin of ‘health’ is before 1000; Middle English helthe, Old English hǣlth. See hale, whole, from dictionary.com
³Nullify – to make null, to make of no value or consequence. invalidate or cancel the effectiveness of something; to deprive of effective or continued existence. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nullify

Post By:  Ellen Firestone

What Does it Take to Live the Pledge?

What Does it Take to Live the Pledge?

Do you remember back in grade school when we started our day with the Pledge of Allegiance? With right hand over heart, we recited this pledge every day while admiring our Flag. I remember feeling very proud but not sure I truly understood what I was actually pledging OR, that someday it might take something more than words to fulfill the pledge–it might require action.

My son said the same pledge when he was in school and my nieces still say it today.

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for All.

So, what did that actually mean? And, more importantly, did we really mean it?

Pledge: to promise solemnly.¹

Allegiance: devotion or loyalty to a person, group or cause.²

Republic: a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them.³

Indivisible: not divisible; not separable into parts; incapable of being divided.⁴

Liberty: freedom from arbitrary or despotic control. Power of Choice.⁵

Justice: the administration of law, especially the establishment or determination of rights according to the rules of law or equity.⁶

All: Everybody, Everything.⁷

Most of us have probably rarely considered the possibility of losing the liberties we’ve been so fortunate to have in the United States of America.

If we truly pledge this allegiance (promise to be loyal to the cause), we need to be highly aware of decisions and events happening in our own country and around the world so as to prevent the slow encroachment and violation of our human rights and liberties.

We can begin by knowing our 30 Universal Human Rights and make sure others know them as well.

Freedom is not free. It comes with responsibility.  The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 21, Section 3 states: The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government. Our responsibility does not end with a vote. Another action you can take is to continuously use your voice effectively with your Congress people.

Know Your 30 Human Rights. Live the Pledge. The power is in you!

Post By:  Ellen Firestone

Where Does Peace Begin?

Where Does Peace Begin?

Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on September 21st. The United Nations’ General Assembly declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire.

Is peace simply the absence of war and violence? Or, do each of us contribute to peace every day of our lives?
On Saturday, September 19th, I made a trip to the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania to visit my family. I decided to stop at the local mall prior to arriving at my parent’s house. It was a beautiful Saturday with lots of people enjoying a day of shopping with family and friends which suddenly crashed to fear and chaos.

I was inside Macy’s looking at some clothing when I heard what sounded like a stampede and kids screaming. I looked up and saw a bunch of high school kids running so thought they were messing around. Then more and more people were running and someone yelled “Get out, get out someone has a gun.” My first thought was is this for real? Obviously, there was no time for analysis and I just ran to the nearest exit (with the suit jacket still on that I was trying), hopped in my car and quickly drove away. As I was leaving the parking lot, I saw a few police cars entering and then realized this is for real.

Thankfully the news report the next day was that no one was physically harmed—4 rounds shot inside the mall, but no one hurt. However, there were photos of children crying and stories of people hiding until police came to escort them out. Some of the emotional harm was traumatic. The terror and chaos created at that place and time was definitely not a contribution to peace.

We may not be on the top governmental lines to stop wars but we can certainly be responsible for our own inner peace and peace in our communities.

Where does peace begin? It starts with the thoughts we think and words we speak and actions each of us takes. True peace does not come in a pill or a bottle.

Serenity is defined as the state of being calm, peaceful or untroubled. We can work on that each moment for ourselves and our families and contribute to peace in the larger world. We either cause peace or we cause something else.

The short answer is, Peace begins with you and me.

“It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

Post By:  Ellen Firestone