Peg in the Machine

This is just an update to the original. So far the message to the city has been received and acknowledged (via a read receipt) — and has promptly been ignored. No message back of “you’ll need to talk to X” or anything. I’ll give them until Monday, and then another message will be sent. I’m still hopeful that they’ll either do something or at the very least get back with me! So stay tuned.

So what are these so-called “god-given” rights people are supposed to have? Are there really rights that all people on the planet have? If so… then what happened to them? Very few, if any, countries actually have the same laws and regulations to guarantee the rights of the people. But if a “right” has to be protected by a government and capable of being denied by a government — it’s not a right, it’s a privilege.

People only have one right — and it’s the one thing many people (if not all) don’t really want: the right to die.

But, we don’t even really have that. We have the right to die whenever we die from natural causes, murdered, accident, etc. We aren’t allowed to choose when we die, and if we do our relatives may be punished (no insurance — so funeral/etc comes out of their pockets). Terminally ill and in so much pain you’re put in a coma so you stop screaming? Too bad, that’s life. Not all think that’s right however, but still. Think we have other rights? Name one.

Right to eat? Only if you’ve got money, if not people are giving you food for free. Think you can plant a garden to have your own food? Sorry, unless you’re trespassing you’ve got to pay for the land, the seeds, the water, the nutrients, and potentially pay taxes on the land itself. No right there. If eating’s a right everyone would be able to do so without conditions.

Right to clean water? Nope, not unless you pay for it — and this time you can’t even buy land to get it for the pollutants in the sky will contaminate it.

Right to shelter? Only if you’ve got money or one of the “lucky” homeless that gets to stay in a shelter.

Born free with equal rights? What planet? There’s still pay gaps between men and women.

Right not to be tortured? Maybe if we’re not at war, not wanting something another person has, and not believed to of been at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Right not to be arbitrary arrested or detained?

Right to an education? Again, only if you’ve got money; or the person co-signing your loan has it — or you manage to get a grant.

Freedom of speech? Really… is there really any non-censored form of media or entertainment left?

A right is something that people have that can’t be removed. Even though all those things above (and others such as at http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html), aren’t rights in the sense that they can’t be removed. Their privileges granted by the elected body that can be revoked for any reason; the better the reason and the more likely people are to thank the government for taking them away.

Well the wheels for the bicyclist rights movement has been started in my town. I just submitted a request for the town to include an ordinance for the rights for people to actually use a bicycle to get to stores and their workplace — and actually have it be required that they can store their bicycle safely, and a place to change clothes if they’re an employee. After all, it’s a fair thing. Businesses have to have a place for people to park, or at least it’s in their best interest, but with the rising gas prices, and people just becoming more aware of how much money they can save by cutting just a few miles off their daily trips, more people seem to be traveling by bicycle than before — and not for recreation.

It’s just a shame when people can go anywhere on a bicycle, but they can’t park their bicycle places or just can’t take it to work for they don’t have a place to change clothing. After all, who really wants to be riding a bicycle to work wearing a dress/skirt, hosiery and heels — or a suit and dress shoes? You know it’s just asking to get the clothing damaged or ripped. At least if people could load their clothing in a backpack and ride a bike to work – they could change clothes and be set. And really all it’d take is an employee bathroom — since employees are there before customers (at many places), it could be locked for them to change clothes before and after work.

Best of all, it really wouldn’t cost that much money if any. Might have to clean the entryway more, but a rug thrown down would help that out. If people want to ride bicycles, it’s only right that they be given the chance to ride one just as others do a car. After all, they say driving is a privilege not a right — almost anyone can ride a bicycle, not everyone can drive a car.