A Better World? Part 1: The Knowledge of Suffering
2017 CBC Massey Lectures – Payam Akhavan’s “In Search of a Better World: A Human Rights Odyssey”
I can’t say that I wasn’t previously aware of the various injustices across the world, however Payam Akhavan has presented them, namely those of Iran, in a way that emphasizes the individual impact we each can now make towards helping bring a balance – at least in comparison to 40 years ago.
It is easy to dismiss the ideologies of those thought to be too radical, or too young. Although, we must also remember that it is typically the radical who take the biggest physical steps towards positive, and impactful, change.
“The youth should arise in service to humanity, they should move the earth.”
Human rights have been taught worldwide as a system of equally for all, however, as shown through Payam’s narrative, this is not always the case. Often times, we live in a so-called bubble, never really venturing outside of that which we consider safe, but as Payam stated in his lecture, “when setting out on a journey, do not seek advice from someone who has never left home.”
That tells me that the general understanding of human rights is reliant on our sense of domination and self-discovery. An increased level of dominance can typically decrease one’s sense of self and eventually others, resulting in acts like sexism, genocide, and slavery. But through increased levels of self-discovery and understanding, one learns to better value mankind, viewing the world truly as one equal nation.
Listening to lectures of Payam’s nature, hearing the stories of those who essentially have no connection to me other than being human, reinforces my theory that the abuse and undermining of human rights are not limited to one set race or ethnicity. Despite what may have been thought when we were children, the abuses are accosted to insecurities surrounding the further education and enhancement of mankind – to be more specific, within one’s country or community.
We’ve become accustomed to simply surviving in our own generational bubbles, holding on to the ideologies of only those who are within that bubble, but I think, now more than ever, there needs to be more examples of “radical” thinkers who will challenge the current mundane, and unfair, traditions and bring about change.
I’m not an immigrant and I’m not of Iranian descent, yet I relate to Payam Akhavan as being a visible minority. Not to equate myself to Payam but having experienced a similar type of school bullying in my own capacity, I remember a time when I would hate being linked with Canada.
With all the racial and sexist slurs of my childhood, being Canadian meant throwing away my own ancestral heritage for a country who appeared to despise me. However, it wasn’t until I travelled outside of Canada and had meaningful conversations with other people from similar households, that I realized human rights were being violated for every and anyone who was merely considered different.
In learning the stories of those immigrants, refugees, and the descendants of such, the racial slurs and the sexist comments began to work to my advantage. I was no longer lackadaisically accepting the ignorance but instead started using them as opportunities to educate and inform.