Causes
The following are some of the causes that Matt supports. As most are aware, Matt frequently highlights these causes in his daily writing. If you’d like to search for something in particular in the archives regarding the following topics, please use the search feature entering the appropriate keywords.
Human Rights
We have a responsibility to those seeking just and equal rights to ensure that we, the inhabitants of nations which promote the equality of all people, do not allow our perception of just and equal rights to be altered or diminished. In the wake of September 11th, the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and others have been guilty of contributing to a decline in global human rights standards because of actions taken in the War on Terror. We must therefore ensure, for the sake of future generations and those who do not have a voice, that we remain vigilant and pledged to the maxim that we must not, as free thinking and compassionate people, allow our apathy and insularity to result in a further decline in global human rights standards.
The struggle for human rights is the struggle for human dignity. I therefore implore you to speak out on behalf of those who do not have a voice.
- Read the Declaration of Human Rights
Of interest regarding the declination of human rights post 9/11:
- Taxi To The Dark Side
- The Road To Guantanamo
- Standard Operating Procedure
- Torturing Democracy
Mental Illness
Former US President Bill Clinton once said – “mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, but stigma and bias shame us all.” How right he was, and yet society’s taboos regarding mental illness remain largely unaltered.
There is no greater prison than the mind. For those that do not have to deal with a life spent struggling with trying to endure that reality it is an extremely difficult thing to explain. Therein lies the gulf that exists in most societies between those that would rather not confront the realities of mental illness and those that endure it.
To many, the mentally ill are viewed as frightening and, in some cases, even inhuman. Such fears are driven by insecurity and fear itself, from not wanting to understand something that seems too terrible to personally contemplate. Mental illness frightens because it forces people to confront that within themselves that terrifies them, and therefore routinely produces ignorance and indifference so that such a confrontation can be conveniently dismissed. Overcoming such stigmas is quintessential, for we demean our claim on civility as long as they exist.
