Human Rights

There are certain things that most people can agree are human rights.  I will throw out life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as examples.  (I didn't come up with those myself.  I think somebody famous did.)  The UN has a Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which lots of folks could probably get on board with.  The UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights describes human rights as follows:

"Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. We are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible."

I do not believe that the right to experiment with scent is a human right.

This clip is from an NPR story on a new trend in LA: scents.  There's a bar where people just come in and sniff and buy rare perfumes, and a lab where they can make their own.  The first voice you hear is the reporter.  The second is the gal who runs said lab.



When did it happen that whatever it is that you want to do became a human right?  That whatever you think is important became a human right?  That thing might be worthwhile or important, but that doesn't make it a human right.

The right to experiment with scent is a human right?  Really?  Truly ridiculous.