Dignity in the Netherlands

I’m not sure why I chose the Netherlands to answer to this prompt. Well, it might have had something to do with my having just read Beowulf in my British Literature class and my tying together the notions of dignity and honor with the concept of “flyting”, or socially acceptable boasting. Anyway, the general culture of the Netherlands is still centered on pride and to a great degree, freedom. They just aren’t fighting for their honor with swords, shields and helmets anymore.

Their sense of the notions of pride and freedom now are slightly different from our conceptions of them. Where we tend to group those two concepts into one notion of “nationalism”, the people of the Netherlands do not have a sense of a unifying national culture. Instead, they pride themselves on their degree of acceptance of many cultural differences. They love the idea of diversity, and that acts as their unifying power. This is much like America, where we are a “melting pot”, but we still manage to unite the concept of “being American” under that principle. In the Netherlands, they emphasize those differences, finding the concept of “nationalism” as we see it unnecessary.

I looked up the Constitution of the Netherlands and the first article of the first chapter (they do not have a preamble) states:

All persons in the Netherlands shall be treated equally in equal circumstances.  Discrimination on the grounds of religion, belief, political opinion, race, or sex or on any other grounds whatsoever shall not be permitted.

To me, the fact that the Netherlands places so much emphasis on diversity and equality means that their notion of dignity coincides with the concept that dignity is universal. Everyone in the Netherlands strives to treat everyone with equality, regardless of their background, giving everyone a sense of dignity.

Of course, I believe that we should all strive to treat dignity this way, and I believe that in a sense, we all do strive to be this way. But maybe it would be easier if we too emphasized our differences from each other and treated everyone with the dignity they deserve as free and individual people. 

References:

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/The-Netherlands.html

http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/nl00000_.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_Netherlands

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_the_Netherlands

Empathy, Autonomy and Dignity

“… being made to suffer, bodily and materially, is not conceptually the same wrong as being treated as if one is not a human being. Lastly, I believe that though a human being can never forfeit his or her dignity and thus become legitimately open to any kind of inhuman treatment, one assaults one’s own dignity when one is a party to serious injustice, or systemic oppression, or to evil as a policy; one is acting as if one were more than human, or more human than those whose victimization one causes or calmly accepts as nothing untoward.” (Kateb 13)

If we go by a definition of dignity that says it is an essential element to being human and that it is something that all human beings are born with, then it is impossible to forfeit that dignity willingly. Forfeiting dignity would be forfeiting your humanity, and that is impossible. There are other essential elements that make humans different from other species. The capacity to empathize with one another is another of these elements. Empathy implies that humans have the moral capacity to recognize each others’ needs. I believe then, that taking away empathy takes away dignity, and that is how dignity is forfeited. A person who refuses to empathize with another has sacrificed an essential part of being human in themselves and is also denying the other person that capacity.

The idea of empathy also brings up another element of dignity and humanity, that is, autonomy. A person’s individuality and capacity to make decisions is another part of what gives them dignity. When their autonomy is infringed upon, so is their dignity. To refer back to Kateb and his idea that one assaults one’s own dignity when they play a part in injustice, it is an injustice to take away a person’s autonomy. To do so is to forfeit the capacity to empathize, which infringes upon autonomy and also upon dignity.  

This is what I think so far, in response to this passage in Kateb’s article. I know I need to check on the philosophical implications I am making, but this is how I have thought it through. Obviously this response will change and clarify itself as we discuss more.

Time of Inconvenience

I've been on a Nanci Griffith musical kick for the past few days, and I notice that she touches on a lot of points that deal with the concept of human dignity. 


This song, "Time of Inconvenience" puts an interesting twist on the state of the world, and how inconvenient the times really are. 

Time of Inconvenience (1994)

We're living in a time of inconvenience

Compassion fails me with this meanness in the air

Our city streets are filled with violence

So we close our doors to the city

And pretend that it's not there

Here I go again

Back out on these mean streets

The evil seems to cling to the soles of my feet

'cause' I'm living in a time of inconvenience

At an inconvenient time

We're living in the age of communication

Where the only voices heard have money in their hands

Where greed has become a sophistication

And if you ain't got money

You ain't got nothin' in this land

An' here I am one lonely woman

On these mean streets

Where the right to life man has become my enemy

'cause' I'm living in his time of inconvenience

At an inconvenient time

(bridge)

I've turned my cheek

As my history fades

While the clock ticks away

Any progress we've made

I never thought

I'd be ashamed to be human

Afraid to say

My time has seen it's day

'cause' I'm living in a time of inconvenience

living in a time of inconvenience living in a time of inconvenience

It's an inconvenient time

This is the time of greed and power

Where everyone needs to have someone to shove around

Our children come to us for answers

Listening for freedom but they don't know the sound

And there they are, our children

Dumped out in these mean streets

The evil sweeps them up

And brings them to their knees

'cause' they're living in our time of inconvenience

They're living in the age of communication

This is the time of greed and power

This is the time that I wish was not mine

'cause' it's an inconvenient time

(time, oh time)

(it's an inconvenient time)

Nanci Griffith manages to encapsulate much of what we talked about this past class. Status, power, communication, rights... here it is in a 4 minute song. It's an interesting jumping off point for discussion on how all of this applies to dignity, if it does at all. 

A Most Peculiar Man

A Most Peculiar Man (P. Simon, 1965)
He was a most peculiar man. 

That's what Mrs. Riordan said and she should know; 

She lived upstairs from him 

She said he was a most peculiar man. 

He was a most peculiar man. 

He lived all alone within a house, 

Within a room, within himself, 

A most peculiar man. 

He had no friends, he seldom spoke 

And no one in turn ever spoke to him, 

'Cause he wasn't friendly and he didn't care 

And he wasn't like them. 

Oh, no! he was a most peculiar man. 

He died last Saturday. 

He turned on the gas and he went to sleep 

With the windows closed so he'd never wake up 

To his silent world and his tiny room; 

And Mrs. Riordan says he has a brother somewhere 

Who should be notified soon. 

And all the people said, "What a shame that he's dead, 

But wasn't he a most peculiar man?"

The concept of human dignity cannot be tied down to one specific definition. There are too many dimensions and aspects of it that combine to make one concept. While I believe that part of human dignity is something that each individual is born with and carries with them through life, I also believe that it is a social construct that is given to us by others and can therefore grow, change and be taken away.


"A Most Peculiar Man" is an example of dignity as a construct of other people's perceptions of a person. The man is viewed as peculiar to everyone around him, and his character is defined by what they all believe about him. He is degraded to the point of suicide, it seems. But why? Where does his dignity go? Does he still have dignity even if what they said about him was untrue? Did he kill himself to preserve what was left of his dignity?


Granted, many of these questions are inherent in the nature of the poetry itself, leaving the listener with the ability to interpret the meaning for themselves. Someone else might see it another way, depending on their experiences. That is how human dignity seems to work as well, leaving people with questions and interpretations of their own. Many of these questions will be answered over the course of the semester as we each explore the different dimensions of human dignity, giving us a better understanding of ourselves and each other.