No, not I: the UNDHR.
Today is the 76th birthday of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, three generations old and still forceful despite numerous, often systemic, violations. It is primarily but by no means solely the work of the greatest of our three Roosevelts, Teddy, Franklin, and Eleanor.
"Greatest?" Well, at least Eleanor's work is the longest lasting (unless one counts Teddy's FTC, Sherman Anti-Trust Act, and Robinson-Patman Acts; or Franklin's SEC even though these are observed more in violation that in compliance.) The declaration is often violated, certainly, but nonetheless, UNDHR has the widest impact of any of the other Roosevelts' legacies. It's thirty articles continue to inspire men and women and some government leaders throughout the world. She also inspires women by her example of hectoring her husband to respond to society's needs; of out-maneuvering Andrei Gromyko, The Soviet Ambassador to the UN; and of forging alliances with domestic Republicans and leaders from different cultures and political systems.
Now it is up to us the remind our present generation of leaders of the foundational importance of the UNDHR, May we assure its survival for another 76 years.
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