Today, December 10 2008 is the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Although Americans, particularly Franklin Roosevelt (whose Four Freedoms speech was taken as inspiration), and Eleanor Roosevelt (who regarded it as her greatest accomplishment), were instrumental in the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United States has never lived up to the aspirations of that December day in 1948.

Aside from our having recently committed torture and conducted an illegal invasion of a country that did not attack us, we have failed as a country to promote the declared rights in the UDHR, and have failed to ratify many of the conventions that would make those rights the highest law of the land. And that is why I wish to remind everyone what is in the preamble, and for you to pay particular attention to the underlined words:

Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

As I will show, every organ of American society does not keep this declaration constantly in mind, nor strive to teach and educate Americans about their universal human rights.

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