they’ll get what every human being deserves the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

I have a ‘philosophical’ thought on this. The interesting fact is that human rights came into being in the cultural area inseminated by Greek reason and Christian belief in soul and possibility of individual salvation. This is a point that is no longer stressed today, for fear of accusations of Eurocentrism, but human rights appeared in Christian Europe, not in Uganda, Madagascar or China. John Locke wrote in 1689, ‘liberty of conscience is every man’s natural right, equally belonging to dissenters as to themselves’ (A Letter Concerning Toleration), referring to citizens from Christian states.

So, on top of the idea of civil rights, that were built on citizenship rights & duties in relation to authority, was laid this halo of ‘freedom of conscience’ that was concerned with tolerating dissenters on matters of faith. The ‘human as a creative potential’ pathos comes from Renaissance’s humanists’ rediscovery of Ancient thought. All these are cultural layers that contributed to the definition of human rights in Europe and the United States.

The text from the United States Declaration of Independence still keeps the cultural stamp, which makes it clearer: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” (1776) In other words, humans have rights because their lives have a value which comes from their creator (compared to other animals, who have been considered soulless). This is what made human life sacred in human law, it’s the umbilical cord with the Christian culture from which human rights stemmed. The experience of the two world wars in the 20th century pressed for a universal imposition of human rights, to avoid similar future destructive events.

Now – the interesting turn is that human rights have been used to protect behaviours which Christian communities do not agree with. More recently, scientific explanations about humans have been promoting the idea that these behaviours are natural, just like any other animal behaviours. And of course, now animals have rights too, bestowed on them by humans… But how does this drama continue if people increasingly believe that evolutionary forces have shaped the way they look, feel and act and that there are winners and losers in the process? Human rights may be standing in the way of evolutionary forces, protecting some who wouldn’t stand a chance in a real natural state. So it seems we are not in a full-on evolutionary situation, but we may be going back to roots by undermining the (Christian) beliefs which supported the creation of human rights.

The boomerang effect is that destroying the Christian base will also draw the carpet from under the feet of human rights. This would be a Pyrrhic victory, but it’s not gays’ fault, because I think their intentions are innocent and they have been largely victimised until now.