The dominant culture in the United States is making all themajor decisions everyone else has to live with.

Some are for the best and some simply benefit those who belongto this culture.

This dominant culture comprises the white, heterosexualChristian male.

His decisions are, for the most part, influenced by hisupbringing and the values he was introduced to and with which hegrew up.

For instance, President Bush, leader of the dominant culture,comes from a well-off family.

He is white, heterosexual and a devout Christian.

He has proven on numerous occasions how it is almost impossiblefor him to comprehend and accept some people who don’t fall intothat category.

A good example is illustrated by a picture released by hisoffice that showed him signing the Partial Birth Abortion Act of2003.

Surrounding him were a group of white, heterosexual males withhuge smiles on their faces.

Not one woman was present at the signing of this bill.

In his State of the Union address, President Bush discussedserious challenges facing the nation and the steps America musttake to make it a more secure, prosperous and hopeful country.

We can only hope all the bigotry and prejudice that pervades theworld today will soon be overcome and trust that he will be one totake the first step toward making America a more secure, moreprosperous and more hopeful country for all its inhabitants.

Other members of this dominant culture are those belonging tothe National Rifle Association.

Most executive members of the NRA are white males, living inopulent and well secured homes.

They see no problem with guns because they have the liberty ofgoing back to their secured homes where they don’t have to worryabout drive-by shootings.

I am not stating guns should be completely eliminated, but Ifeel there should be more stringent laws restricting andcontrolling their availability and their use.

So many innocent bystanders have been victimized by guns.

Many children have been orphaned and many wives widowed. I feelit is time we looked at the use of these weapons and examine whatthey have done to society.

Look closely and analyzing the language used in the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights.

It is evident that most of the articles listed were designed andoutlined by members of the dominant culture.

For instance:

Article 2

“Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forthin this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race,color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion,national or social origin, property, birth or other status.Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of thepolitical, jurisdictional or international status of the country orterritory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent,trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation ofsovereignty.”

This, of course, excludes the rights and freedoms of those whodon’t belong to the heterosexual category.

We are in the 21st century and these articles have not beenrevised to include all of the human race.

Article 11

“Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to bepresumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a publictrial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for hisdefense.”

In this article, use of “he” and “his” suggests there are,perhaps, no women to consider.

Once again, we live in an era of political correctness. Womenplay a very large role in this society and are just as important asthe rest of the human race, their rights should also beconsidered.

It is important to note this declaration was proclaimed in 1948and was again celebrated in 1998, which marked its 50thanniversary.

I find it disturbing no one pointed out the need for theserights to be revised so they included every member of society.

I support the Declaration of Human Rights and believe thateveryone should be protected.

However, I do have a problem with the exclusiveness that stillremains among some of the articles.

I say it’s about time these are amended.

Otherwise, it leaves the rest of us feeling as though we don’thave a place in this society.