Personal Agency & ＂The Marginalized＂ ｜ A Critical Compass Clip
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
139.84462
Summary
In this episode, we discuss the role of government in society and the role government has played in shaping our understanding of human rights and human dignity. We also discuss the American constitution and why it's important to understand that human rights are not something that are bestowed upon us by the state or government, but by the natural human rights that we were born with and endowed by god.
Transcript
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they've used language to distort this and it actually changes how we view people um so
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marginalized that means that somebody else did that to them it takes away personal agency
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from the individuals it's saying well the system created you this way and you don't have free will
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and any hardship or any difference in outcome is the system's fault and not your fault
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and it with that kind of wording or if you're saying well canada is a racist country and all
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the cards are stacked against you like that's a pretty hopeless situation like that it doesn't
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empower individuals what it does is it powers empowers a state to find solutions for them
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same thing with homelessness some somebody's not a homeless person anymore they are unhoused
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because somebody or experiencing homelessness yeah they're experiencing homelessness or somebody
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unhoused them and again that takes away from personal any sense of personal responsibility
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or the hope of invoking change by yourself without a large government to set the framework for you
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to change your life yeah if uh that's exactly right if somebody has if somebody if an institution
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or a history of institutions have placed you in the margins then then by that framework only they can
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remove you from those margins yeah it's a very um i was having this kind of an unrelated discussion
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actually with some family members the other day about um why the american constitution is such a
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unique one but the the term the the uh the notion of inalienable rights which means inalienable means
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even you can't deny yourself those rights could because they're instilled by god so not even you can
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deny your own humanity and that's a very or or your or the the natural human rights that you were born
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with endowed by god like that's that's a those are very powerful words that not a lot of people
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view themselves as having a lot of people view the rights they have in their society as being uh
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bestowed upon them by a state or by a government or by some some institution and if you view it like
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that well then they can also take those away from you so there needs to be a recognition i think
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kind of across the western world now that there are certainly it's not it's not racist or or xenophobic
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or uh like it's none of these words to believe that you have the right to live in a peaceful and
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harmonious way like those that is something that you should view as something that simply by you
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existing on this planet you are owed and and not by a government but by just the fact that you're here