This year 60th anniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The official text of the Declaration is here. Some stuff in there seems prett' near undoable, but it's a very nice dream.

It sometimes bothers me that even though most countries (including the US) signed on to this declaration, they don't behave as if they cared about it. For example:

• The US uses torture, violating Article 5.
  
• The US allows certain elected officials to avoid being held accountable before the law in the same way that ordinary citizens are. It also doesn't hold corporations accountable the same way as corporeal persons are, violating Article 7.
  
• The US does not have an effective remedy for these, violating Article 8.
• The US arbitrarily holds people without trial and without stating what the offense is, violating Article 9, 10 and 11.
  
• The US uses degrading treatment on its Vets when they try to exercise free speech, violating Article 12.
• The US prevents gay people from entering into marriage even though the declaration states that people should not be discriminated against in regard to marriage, violating Article 16.
• The US arbitrarily deprives people of property, violating Article 17.
  
• The US has "free speech zones" implying free speech is not allowed elsewhere, violating Article 19.
• The US does not allow free assembly for all of its citizens, violating Article 20.
• The will of the people is not respected in US elections, violating Article 21.

These are all items that could done without the need for brilliant solutions.

Articles 22 through 30, which have to do with rights to decent living conditions, are more difficult to comply with. It's forgivable that no country has complied, as these are hard problems to solve. But we could at least refrain from discrimination and harm as set forth in 1-21, in our home, EARTH.

The US signed the declaration and therefore, according to US constitution, our national law should conform to it. Therefore some of our internal laws are unconstitutional. Grrr.

I realize that other countries violate many of the Articles of the declaration also, but this is so hypocritical! We hold ourselves up to others as the beacon of freedom, the defender of human rights, and it just ain't so.