Dare to Care February 11th 2022

Laudato Si’ Quote:

30. Even as the quality of available water is constantly diminishing, in some places there is a growing tendency, despite its scarcity, to privatize this resource, turning it into a commodity subject to the laws of the market. Yet access to safe drinkable water is a basic and universal human right, since it is essential to human survival and, as such, is a condition for the exercise of other human rights. Our world has a grave social debt towards the poor who lack access to drinking water, because they are denied the right to a life consistent with their inalienable dignity. This debt can be paid partly by an increase in funding to provide clean water and sanitary services among the poor. But water continues to be wasted, not only in the developed world but also in developing countries which possess it in abundance. This shows that the problem of water is partly an educational and cultural issue, since there is little awareness of the seriousness of such behavior within a context of great inequality. (Italics for emphasis in the original)

Reflection:

When I think of basic human rights, do I include access to safe drinkable water? Am I willing to talk to others about water as a basic and universal human right? What does it mean to me that access to safe drinkable water is so essential to human survival that it is a “condition for the exercise of other human rights”?

Action:

Talk to at least one other person this week about water as a basic and universal human right. Continue to pay attention to the water that you use, and the water that is wasted this week.