Human dignity requires that a person should be allowed access to basic human rights such as the right to food, clothing, housing, religion, or personal expression. However, the powerful people of our world have insulted this perception of human dignity and most of them have implemented policies which deprive humans of their dignity. The role of the powerful in insulting human dignity is illustrated in the story ‘The Concept from Blindness’ by Jose Saramago by providing the experiences that people at the asylum underwent while the responsible individuals for their well-being made their situation even worse. In the story, the powerful people in the society have gained control over most of the resources such as access to funds for the provision of relief services to the people and they provide services in a manner that fits their preferences without regards for the experiences that the people are undergoing. While the people are experiencing an epidemic of blindness, the people in power such as their leaders have not taken action to provide immediate medication which can cure the illness ( Keren, 2007) . On the other hand, they have opted to send the people to asylum where they are overcrowded and the spread becomes fast while little intervention is being implemented.
The people in power are responsible for the hygiene of those that are governed. This is because it is a human dignity to live in a hygienic environment that is free from exposure to pollution or harm. This is contrary to the case study in the book by Samarago where people live in overcrowded asylum where other blind people have been placed in quarantine. The people in the asylum experience low morale and they experience anxiety over the availability of food because their leaders are less concerned about their needs. The process of delivery of food in the asylum is irregular and there is lack of solidarity among those involved in its delivery.
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The case study presents a case of violation of human dignity with regards to the manner in which soldiers are treated at the asylum. Their leaders have not provided them with protective mechanisms when distributing materials such as food and other needs to the people, resulting into their exposure to infection with blindness. While the leaders of people such as the military have the duty of protecting the people, they expose the internees to rape and deprivation; ignore the blind people in the asylum to wander into the city in search of means of survival. Families are separated and they are unable to find one another and there is a general breakdown in the society, majorly caused by the negligent acts of leaders who are responsible for addressing the people’s needs. The military are also inhuman in the manner in which they address the needs of the people in the asylum since they refuse to allow basic medications, which results into deadliness of simple infections. As a result, there is a general lack of healthy living conditions among people in the asylum, not because there is inadequate capability, but due to lack of leaders’ willingness and reactivity in the performance of their role of addressing the needs of the affected people. This leads to the conclusion that deterioration of human dignity is majorly caused by the unwillingness of the powerful individuals in the society to contribute towards addressing their needs in a more effective manner.
References
Keren, M. (2007). The original position in José Saramago's Blindness. The Review of Politics , 69 (03), 447-463.
