Start From Scratch!

The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.- William Shakespeare, Henry The Sixth (Part 2, Act 4, scene 2)

"The words, ‘Let’s kill all the lawyers,’ were not spoken by a disgruntled litigant (or even by Henry VI’s press secretary). They were uttered by the conspirators in Cade’s Rebellion, who planned to overthrow the English government, destroy the ancient rights of English men and women, [as such "rights" were available to women at that time], and establish a virtual dictatorship. Through the rebels’ threat, Shakespeare reminds the groundlings that lawyers, as protectors of that system of ordered liberty, are as much an obstacle to a rebellion that would curtail liberty as any garrisoned castle. Thus, Cade’s path to oppression leads inevitably over their bodies…”. — John J. Curtin, Jr., Esq., President, American Bar Association, published in the ABA Journal, September, 1990

I am exactly where I've wanted to be since my senior year of highschool, and it makes me giddy. Senior year we all had to write a term paper on our dream career, mine was on International Human Rights Law. I am now in Costa Rica studying human rights with one of Costa Rica's top lawyers. He is running for the position of Ombudsman (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ombudsman). If he wins, he will be responsible for handling all human rights violation reports for this country. Though the class is still a bit heavy on theory, I am enjoying it and thrilled that it is taught by someone of his caliber. Last week he gave us an interesting group exercise; we were handed a list of rights and told to rank them from most important to least important. We were supposed to place them in order of what would be vital if we were starting with a brand new society that had no rules. What would you place at the top if you had to create your own societal rules from scratch? Each of us made our own list, and then we broke up into three groups, with the task of coming to a consensus on the 'correct' order. When I first looked at the list I didn't think I would be able to rank them. Check it out...

*rights are listed in no particular order*

1) The right to due process
2) The right to freedom of expression and religion
3) The right to peace
4) The right to liberty (freedom from slavery, freedom of movement)
5) The right to privacy
6) The right to property
7) The rights related to labor and social security
8) The right to an adequate standard of living
9) The right to health
10) The right to education and culture
11) The right to participate in society
12) The right to equality and non-discrimination
13) The right to a clean and healthy environment
14) The right to rest and leisure

Make your own list!

.......... done?

At the end of the exercise my group placed liberty, freedom of expression, due process, and standard of living at the top. It was really interesting to see other group's choices. One of the them placed due process near the bottom, which I can't even begin to understand but that's just me. This kind of stuff fascinates me, I know I'm nerdy sometimes ;). An exercise in futility or enlightenment? Tell me what you think!