So who goes first? Myself? In that case, I'll just sum up a few points and wait for the inevitable barrage.
The rights of the individual to join exclusive, voluntary associations outweighs society's goal of eliminating discrimination.
I'll just dumb it down to my understanding of it then shall I? Basically, my understanding of the topic is that the ability for someone to be able to join an organization and be able to belong somewhere is more important than getting rid of discrimination, hence, letting everyone join. So here are a few points that I think supports this:
1. Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Drafted in, oh I don't know, 1948, this is a declaration made by the UN after WW2 in order to describe the basic rights that every human being should be entitled to. There are 30 articles in this document, and is classed as being the most translated document in the world, if you can believe Guinness World Records. But why just waste time with this, when I should be explaining how it affects my argument. Well, article 20 states:
Article 20 of the UDHR said:
Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
Bam! Right here, in the universal declaration of rights, it says that everyone should be entitled to belonging somewhere and being a part of something, be it an organization, a club or just a committee. It says that it is within the rights of every human being to be able to come together to discuss and promote thoughts and ideas. Isn't that in the US Constitution? Regardless, here we are. But whats this? What was Article 1 in the UDHR you ask? Well lets see:
Article 1 of the UDHR said:
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Oh no! Sign Guy, you must think you have me foiled! Right there, the first article on the list describes a fight against discrimination! Well, I am going to play this on my side of the court. Here, we have the UN clearly putting these two articles together in order to use them in unison. In order to eliminate discrimination, a sense of community must be established, and by having exclusive, voluntary associations, this can be done. A sense of togetherness which is established by utilising ones right to have a place to belong to is indeed crucial to the breaking down of barriers.
Oh yeah. That word. Exclusive. This however, does not mean a necessarily bad thing. "Exclusive" can often be used divide people and segregate, but I don't believe this is always the case. In fact, Exclusive can be used in order to help break down the barriers of discrimination. Indeed, having Womens only or Men only organisations are crucial in the functioning of society, but having an exclusive organisation can also be utilised in order to keep out those who would wish to do wrong and discriminate. By excluding the hatemongers and naysayers, exclusiveness can be used to help discrimination rather than hinder.
2. Unions
This is pretty tied in with the previous paragraph really, but I just wanted to use it as an example. Workers unions are are important part of society, ensuring equality for workers and employers alike. Are these unions not exclusive only to workers? Are they not voluntary organisations? However, do these unions not lobby for the rights of every worker, fighting against a discrimination of say, class? Here, I wanted to demonstrate how exclusive voluntary organisation does not necessarily connotate to discrimination. It isn't all country clubs.
3. Ideologies
Lets go a hypothetical situation then shall we? We live in a village where the council rules over all. They say what happens and when. Only the sons of council members can become future leaders, even if they don't want to be one. This leads to the council being vindictive heirs who rule badly. No one is allowed to join or have any input on the direction of the town and thus, the village falls into ruin.
So we have a single track minded council who won't take any new members, nor take and advice. Imagine if we in the world were like the village, and were not able to join these voluntary organisations. If we did not have the freedom of association, how would we express and defend common ideaologies that are for the greater good? With the freedom of association, we can align ourselves with people of similar views in order to stand up for change, instead of standing alone against a barrage of attack.
By being able to propagate our ideas with others, we are thus able to tackle a larger range of issues, dealing with not only discrimination but also other social issues and enact change through association. Social issues such as poverty, pollution and addiction, all severe social issues could be dealt with, alongside fighting against discrimination. Thus, the rights of the individual to join exclusive, voluntary associations outweighs society's goal of eliminating discrimination.
Your turn brah.
