Humanity is a social creature; this fact is becoming more and more prevalent in our modern communities. New and advanced forms of communication are being created each and every day, a greater part of this new communication form falls under the guise of what we call the media. What eludes many people is the importance of this new communication form; in this new form, images replace text and semiotics replaces symbolism. Our generation is witnessing the induction or genesis of a new binary language.
This shift has not only brought about a change in the way we communicate with each other; but more importantly, the way in which we treat one another. Human dignity, what is dignity? Is it an innate and imperishable human right? Or is it an unscripted social construct that forms out of need and necessity. Our government and parliamentary system certainly believes the later, this is clearly shown in South African Bill of Rights “Everyone has inherent dignity and the right to have their dignity respected and protected.”
Our moral values are not indoctrinated into us; instead, they are a kind of guideline to the ways in which we can better ourselves and our community. Our community and families shelter us, love us and protect us; by following these guidelines, we are quite simply showing our appreciation for what we have been given. As the needs of our community and family change however; so do our moral guidelines, this allows us to better contribute to society.
This I believe is where dignity steps in. I think dignity changes its higher definition many times over, but the most basic of its conceptions does not change. It will always be created out of respect (whether earned or innate) for others. Similarly, as beings of reason and consequence, we should strive to treat others with dignity (respect, privacy etc.) so that they might treat us in kind. My earlier introduction into the media plays an important role in the recently mentioned point.
This is because, in my life, and as I’m sure in the lives of many others, the media as we know it today is largely to blame for the serious decline in human dignity. The media does this by creating a proverbial measuring stick with which we (consciously or unconsciously) judge all others around us. The media (with regards to looks, weight, tertiary activity and consumables) creates crowd norms. In this new media fueled world, when a person does not meet public expectations both their private and public characteristics become viewed in a negative light. Similarly, apparently and according to the media, a celebrity’s dignity means nothing; we see how obvious this fact is once we start to consider the paparazzi, stalkers and probing magazines such as Heat. A common term in South Africa known as xenophobia reintroduces a serious lack of human dignity. Put simply, as soon as people of a different culture move in and provide even the most basic of competition, whether in a rural struggle to meet basic human needs, or in contemporary industrial environment; they discriminate or violently act to remove said threats. This poses a serious problem however, South Africa’s people, being people that build their reputation upon grounds of multi-cultural acceptance and diversity, are violating the very human rights we stand for.
From this, it becomes clear that the ideal that we call dignity is both respected and enforced when we consider justice and moral value. However, as the media slowly replaces all other forms of local and global communication, or poverty and greed slowly strip away at our humanity; dignity as a public ideal slowly and withers dies. Whether dignity is in fact innate or socially generated is unclear, but what we do know is that without a common goal of restoring and maintaining the value that is dignity. Dignity and many other human rights for that matter, would surely crumble under corporate pressures
This shift has not only brought about a change in the way we communicate with each other; but more importantly, the way in which we treat one another. Human dignity, what is dignity? Is it an innate and imperishable human right? Or is it an unscripted social construct that forms out of need and necessity. Our government and parliamentary system certainly believes the later, this is clearly shown in South African Bill of Rights “Everyone has inherent dignity and the right to have their dignity respected and protected.”
Our moral values are not indoctrinated into us; instead, they are a kind of guideline to the ways in which we can better ourselves and our community. Our community and families shelter us, love us and protect us; by following these guidelines, we are quite simply showing our appreciation for what we have been given. As the needs of our community and family change however; so do our moral guidelines, this allows us to better contribute to society.
This I believe is where dignity steps in. I think dignity changes its higher definition many times over, but the most basic of its conceptions does not change. It will always be created out of respect (whether earned or innate) for others. Similarly, as beings of reason and consequence, we should strive to treat others with dignity (respect, privacy etc.) so that they might treat us in kind. My earlier introduction into the media plays an important role in the recently mentioned point.
This is because, in my life, and as I’m sure in the lives of many others, the media as we know it today is largely to blame for the serious decline in human dignity. The media does this by creating a proverbial measuring stick with which we (consciously or unconsciously) judge all others around us. The media (with regards to looks, weight, tertiary activity and consumables) creates crowd norms. In this new media fueled world, when a person does not meet public expectations both their private and public characteristics become viewed in a negative light. Similarly, apparently and according to the media, a celebrity’s dignity means nothing; we see how obvious this fact is once we start to consider the paparazzi, stalkers and probing magazines such as Heat. A common term in South Africa known as xenophobia reintroduces a serious lack of human dignity. Put simply, as soon as people of a different culture move in and provide even the most basic of competition, whether in a rural struggle to meet basic human needs, or in contemporary industrial environment; they discriminate or violently act to remove said threats. This poses a serious problem however, South Africa’s people, being people that build their reputation upon grounds of multi-cultural acceptance and diversity, are violating the very human rights we stand for.
From this, it becomes clear that the ideal that we call dignity is both respected and enforced when we consider justice and moral value. However, as the media slowly replaces all other forms of local and global communication, or poverty and greed slowly strip away at our humanity; dignity as a public ideal slowly and withers dies. Whether dignity is in fact innate or socially generated is unclear, but what we do know is that without a common goal of restoring and maintaining the value that is dignity. Dignity and many other human rights for that matter, would surely crumble under corporate pressures
