Voices: Gen Z - What Human Dignity Means to Me
Melody C., Age 16
Photo by Jose Luis Reyes
It’s easy to feel insignificant in a world reaching a population of nearly 8 billion; where there is always someone smarter, better-looking and more accomplished than me. There’s no denying that it’s near impossible to be the true ‘best’ at anything. But I don’t feel the need to be. Why? Because my sense of self worth is anchored in what I hold to be true of all humans: the belief that we all have worth as individuals, regardless. That’s what human dignity means to me.
Because of human dignity, when I see a group of students like myself, I don’t categorise or rank them according to things they cannot change (their race, their religion) or even things they can, like their marks on a test. I talk to them, I relate to them, I can disagree with them but none of that will affect the fact I know that they are all deserving of my respect.
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
Because of human dignity, I — a girl, mixed race — can stand at just over five feet tall, in a room of white, male students and confidently say “I have the same aspirations of being an engineer” just as they do. We may not all share a physical appearance but we share a common ground in something. In this case, a dream. They look at me, encouragingly, not because I’m a minority and it’s what they are ‘meant’ to do; a friend once told me he was glad I was working on a project with him because I could ‘look at things differently and see things’ that he might miss.
People no longer consider differences as something to separate us. Rather they’re an opportunity to unite us in a common cause, or a vision in activities as simple as a school project. We share some things in common but what makes us distinct is only another way for us to share in something — new knowledge, foreign stories, our favorite foods and songs.
Sometime adults may think that those of us who are part of the Gen Z crowd, are unable to change wider society. We’re too absorbed (they may think) with our own issues. But, the examples of activists like Malala Yousafzai, who received the Nobel Peace Prize at an age only a year older than myself, proves the contrary. She reminds me that I should not view myself or indeed anyone as insignificant. After all, if a single person could stand up for her rights against the Taliban and inspire an international movement because she valued her own human dignity, why should I not value my own?
Photo by Eliott Reyna on Unsplash
Yes, I may be speaking from a position of privilege and not everyone is fortunate enough to have the same first-world upbringing as I have. But I know that every person deserves respect —including me. Perhaps human dignity is not something that every person might be considering these days, but this shouldn’t stop me from considering it myself. In my view a person impacts the world for a greater good only insofar as they take time to respectfully consider their own self worth and then the value of each person around them.
Melody C, 16, Peterborough, England