Recently I walked through downtown Toronto with a new friend who was visiting from Cincinnati. A young man stopped me to ask, “What, in your opinion, is the number one basic human right?”

A series of answers ran through my mind, but to choose the number one human right above all others? I felt stumped and slightly uncomfortable. I didn’t want to walk away without responding. I didn’t want my new friend to think I was too dense, or unaware to not know ‘the answer’. The young man and I looked at each other. He waited patiently, giving me time to think.

I pictured The Clash, the British punk band singing their powerful lyric, ‘You have the right not to be killed,’ and I had my answer;

“Exist. The number one human right above all other human rights is the right to exist.”

Perhaps reading this you may have a different response but I’m sticking to mine. I can’t speak for The Clash of course, but I think they meant that if you are caught in times of strife and war, you have the right not to be killed. Imagine if that were possible to uphold around the world.

David Byrne, a contemporary of The Clash used to write a newsletter he would send to friends and family titled, ‘Reasons to be Cheerful’. What a great idea. That newsletter has now evolved into a website which describes itself as a ‘nonprofit online magazine that is tonic for tumultuous times’. We have the right to be cheerful in our existence. Let’s exercise that right wherever and whenever possible.

Keep your joy.

Anne Milne is an every Sunday blogger, unless it’s a holiday weekend. Or summertime. Facebook or sign up for delivery to your email.