i already forget how i used to feel about you

for those who know me, im a relativist. im a radical relativist. i don't believe that human rights are universal, i don't believe justice means the same for everyone. the only absolute i believe in is of God and that everything else is relative. Yes, i reiterate. the only absolute is God and relativity.

Let me explain why I think human rights is just bullshit. I see the value of democracy. I see the advantages of equality. I see why human rights are "right". but i don't think that just because it is the right thing to me that everyone else should subscribe to my view.

I don't think democracy is a right or equality or fairness for that matter. Why should it be a right? I don't think God is fair, I think these are man-made concepts and since they don't come from God, they aren't absolute.

God is not fair, He is just. I have said it a million times. If God was fair, he would not have favoured Abel over Cain, Jacob over Esau (or let Jacob get away with cheating), Israel over other nations. If God is fairness, there would be no such thing as grace. If everything was equal, would we appreciate what we have? Or will we just think it is our prerogative, it is our right? I don't think anyone can dispute that God did love some more than others. Note that it does not mean that He does not love everyone. Just that He loved some more than others. And who are we to say anything? He's God.

What makes something right or something wrong? Isn't it a value judgment? It is right or wrong because of a fundamental moral basis. Murder is wrong because we believe in the sanctity of life. That's a moral call. Torture is wrong because we believe in kindness. That's morality too. And at the heart of it, as long as it is just, it is "right".

What then, is justice? Justice is relative. Justice is based on morality which is relative. So is it not logical to say that rights are relative? If you think I am suffering but I don't think I am, am I really suffering? It's a question of perception.

If rights are universal then they must be absolute. Yet it is a fact that rights evolve. Years ago, was it a right to live in a environmetally-friendly society? Was it a right to have the government pay for your school fees? What were privileges are now seen as rights. The fact that there are first, second, third, fourth, even fifth generation human rights show that rights are not absolute at all. And it does not make sense to say that human rights exist. Human rights exist because we are human. Years ago, our ancestors were human. Why is it that education was a privilege for them then but it is our right now? Were they less human than we are? Clearly, what is a right pivots on the circumstances and perceptions.

Why is it that Singapore's brand of democracy is being slammed? I accept that we dont have the pure form of Western democracy. So? What makes the Western form the ideal form? Because it corresponds to the basis of equality and right to self-rule. And why is that correct? It is only correct if you believe that equality is a right. But just because it is a right to you does not make it a right.

If I don't think I'm suffering and I don't think I have a right but you think that I do have a right and that that right is being violated, who is right? Even if we have rights, do we have the right to reject such rights? Do we have the right to reject pure forms of democracy?

I think people often criticise without thinking. We assume too much. We take things for granted and we assume that because it is generally accepted that it is right. For goodness sake, what is wrong about slavery? Slavery was intended as a form of debt-repayment. If you cant pay off your debt, you work.

I'm not saying my values are starkly in contrast with the generally accepted principles. I do believe in equality but I also acknowledge that not everyone agrees with me. And I don't purport to impose what I think is right on others just because it is generally accepted.

I know my views are radical but its my opinion. Im not expecting you to agree with me because eveyrthing is relative. With the exception of God, of course. :)