The notion of dignity

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, April 21 — Goethe said, "Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is, treat a man as he can and should be and he will become as he can and should be."

What leaders must learn to do is develop social architecture that encourages bright people, most of whom have big egos, to work together successfully and to deploy their own creativity. I think that it will be open-minded humility and a recognition that we have to reinvent ourselves for the customer that will be the difference between those who survive and thrive in the 21st century and those who become footnotes in the history books.

Connecting dignity to its counterpart, humiliation, might offer a new perspective in discourses on discrimination and marginalisation, favouritism and segregation, in relation to the situation of minorities. There is a reality underlying all notions of discrimination and intolerance, a deeper reality that touches the souls of individuals, groups, and cultural traditions, namely dignity and humiliation.

Human dignity only becomes meaningful and relevant when the everyday realities of humiliation are being faced. As we prepare to drive forward on the unfamiliar terrain that lies ahead, it becomes clear that we are going to require a new kind of organisational vehicle, some very different driving skills, and a whole new sense of direction, but even more fundamentally, we will need to challenge all our personal and organisational assumptions about the world we are heading into.

What is humiliation? What impact does it have on individuals, groups, and society as a whole? How do we live with the scars of a humiliating past and how do we face institutionalised humiliation in the present? Questions have also emerged about how the human dignity of each and every person acts as a universal foundation for human rights.

In a global and pluralist world, the validity and legitimacy of human rights increasingly depends on a foundation that is acceptable in diverse cultures and religions. If every confrontation between a white person and a person of native origin becomes a racial issue, the courts of law would be jammed to the rafters with trivial racial accusations. Despite the acceptance of national variations, true democracy would be judged by the presence of essential ingredients, including the right of citizens to freely choose the men or women to govern them, independence of the judiciary, and freedom of expression and association.

The awesomeness of human dignity shines forth and is most convincing and decisive in situations where human beings are personally confronted with violation and misuse, humiliation or dehumanisation. It then becomes unacceptable purely out of human intuition.

What does humiliation do to people? Humiliation affects something deep down in the human soul; to be humiliated is to be made to feel unworthy of respect, to be subjugated, existentially rejected, and excluded. In other words, humiliation entails a forced degradation of individuals, while conveying the message that they are fundamentally inadequate to belong to a certain group, organisation or institution.

On the other hand, the notion of dignity is of great support in creating more just and equal opportunities in economic, social, and cultural life. Dignity clearly captures the equal worth of each and every person, as well as the principle of the equality of all before the law.

The dignity of man is inviolable. To respect and protect it is the duty of all in authority. In fact, the notion of dignity forms the basis of all international human rights instruments, including the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (1949); the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979); and the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984). In these human rights instruments, the notion of dignity fully expresses the moral primacy of the individual as well as the equal worthiness of each and every person.

Each and every person is special in the eyes of God, for HE created man in HIS likeness and image.