Human duties

It is all very well to commemorate the 48th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on the 10th December 1994. I believe human rights are indeed important, but they should apply equally to people who cannot defend themselves, like the insane, children and unborn babies.

But, let's pause for a while (for a change) and take up the subject of "Human Duties".

It's a fact that most of us tend to fight harder for our rights than for our responsibilities. There is a clear tendency to ignore ethics and morals in our society.

We are quite often forced to shell out extra money or favors to get even normal work done at government offices. Talking of employee-ethics, a boss issued the following memo. Though it is in a lighter vein, it tellingly depicts the state of affairs in Indonesia: "Due to increased competition and a desire to stay in business, we find it necessary to institute a new policy. We are asking that somewhere between starting and quitting time, and without infringing too much on the time usually devoted to lunch periods, coffee-breaks, rest periods, story telling, ticket- selling, etc., each employee endeavor to find some time that can be set aside and be known as the 'Work Break!'"

In Indonesia, this practice is humorously known as the five D's -- datang (come), duduk (sit), dengar (listen), diam (keep silent) and duit (money).

The ex-PM of India, the late Indira Gandhi, described her own belief of work ethics as: "My grandfather once told me that there are two kinds of people -- those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group -- there was less competition there!"

Let's face it, basic discipline must come from within. If it is enforced from outside, success will be short-lived. Every private citizen has a public responsibility. If everyone swept up in front of their own door, wouldn't the world be clean?

I will try to identify some desirable duties expected of human beings:

(1) To exhibit decorum and decency in day-to-day life, such as queuing in public places and following traffic rules and regulations. (2) Caring for the people around us and helping those in need. Mother Teresa says: "If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one." (3) To communicate cheerfulness in everyday life. (4) To give comfort to the sad and appreciation to the worthy. (5) To exercise tolerance towards others' views and beliefs, irrespective of their religion, caste, creed or status. (6) To enrich their own lives with children, child-less couples may choose to adopt orphan kids. (7) To try not to be too self- centered or selfish. "There is enough in this world for man's need, but not enough for man's greed," Mahatma Ghandi summed it up nicely. We do tend to succumb to the pressures of self- interest.

My list is not exhaustive. I feel that it would be better if everyone concentrated on the world's children and inoculated them with good values, patriotism, civic duty, orderliness and team spirit.

I believe it would be ideal if special "Moral Instruction" classes were arranged in elementary schools to narrate to Indonesian kids the heroic and noble deeds of great people in history. These stories, I hope, would leave an indelible impression on the youngsters and would later make them model citizens.

Let's all endeavor to be reasonable human beings and create a happy world for all of us to live in.

D. CHANDRAMOULI

Jakarta