Rallies for the Homeless
Posted on 08 February 2017
Below I have merged two speeches I gave today and yesterday: one was for Protest Melbourne City Council proposed homeless laws and the other Defend and Extend Public Housing.
No society is stable that is built on the backs of the poor and the vulnerable. Universal safety nets are critical to a functioning society.
- There is no freedom for anyone when there are no safety nets.
- There is no security without safety nets.
- And most significantly there are no rights without safety nets.
Anyone can fall from grace. Anyone can go from security to poverty. What people do to the poor and homeless is the pit they dig for themselves. They have to fear the very same abuse they are heaping onto you.
So long as everyone is fearful of becoming poor, it becomes easier for governments and corporations to manipulate and mistreat people.
- With kindness comes freedom.
- With kindness comes security.
- With kindness comes peace.
- We must learn to share.
When we don’t share, when we create a divide between the haves and the have nots, we all live in fear of what violence may erupt. And there is no need for this.
Article One of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
Article 25 states:
Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well being of themselves and of their family, including
- food,
- clothing,
- housing,
- medical care,
- necessary social services, and
the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond their control.
Australia was one of the eight nations to draft this declaration of rights. We signed this document and have signed subsequent treaties that are meant to show our national and international commitment to being a humane nation. We as a country need to show some self-respect by caring for our people. Everyone who needs a home must be given a home. That is your right.
We must all be willing pitch in to help one another with our collective burdens. Anything less is not only irresponsible, we will all lose this planet—everyone regardless of the numbers in our bank account.
Love your neighbour isn’t just a nice idea…it’s about our mutual survival.
Peace and kindness,
Katherine
Responses are closed for this post.