Human Rights Essay, Research Paper

Human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent. Human rights are what make us human. When we speak of the right to life, or development, or to dissent and diversity, we are speaking of tolerance. Tolerance will ensure all freedoms. Without it, we can be certain of none.

The raging ethnic cleansing in Kosovo is an example of intolerance. The Serbians will not tolerate the Albanians at any cost. They are forcing them from their homes, turning the streets into killing fields. This civil war seems unstoppable because of the intolerance of one race against another. No respect for individual rights, basic human rights.

Another example is right in our own back yard. I am speaking of hate crimes which plague our society. They are no different today than centuries ago when slavery was allowed. One race against another. One religion against another, it is all the same. Hate is the opposite of tolerance. We can only live together through an expression of tolerance of the differences each of us brings into this world. We should embrace the differences and share the differences. For this is how we learn, through each others’ differences. Tolerance in all cultures is the basis of peace and progress.

Our country was founded on the basic idea that all man and women are created equal with liberty and justice for all. We must respect and preserve the rights of all, for when the rights of one is threatened the rights of all are diminished. I would like to leave you with this story to ponder. In Germany they came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me and by that time no one was left to speak up. Remember tolerance and mercy have always and in all cultures been ideals of government rule and human behavior. Today, we call these ideals human rights. Human rights are to be respected and preserved if we are progress as a society and as a people.

Affirmative:

Organized government would be non-existent if human rights were not preserved and protected.

This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened. Human rights are the foundation of human existence and coexistence. Human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent. Human rights are what make us human. When we speak of the right to life, or development, or to dissent and diversity, we are speaking of tolerance. Tolerance- – promoted, protected and enshrined- – will ensure all freedoms. Without it, we can be certain of none.

Human right are those rights which are inherent in each of us by virtue of the fact the we are members of the human species. For example, one human right would be the right to live free from unprovoked acts of violence. Another would be the right to be recognized and respected as a person. Without respect for each others basic human rights , organized anything would be virtually impossible. The law of the land would be replaced by the law of the jungle. Protection of human rights if essential for any organized society. Respect and protection of human rights and organized government can not be separated, one can not exist without the other. Human rights are the expression of those traditions of tolerance in all religious and cultures that are the basis of peace and progress. Human rights are foreign to no culture and native to all nations. Tolerance and mercy have always and in all cultures been ideals of government rule and human behavior. Today, we call these ideals human rights.

It is the university of human rights that gives them their strength. It endows them with the power to cross any border, climb any wall, defy any force. The struggle for universal human rights has always and everywhere been the struggle against all forms of tyranny and injustice- -against slavery, against colonialism, against apartheid. It is nothing less and nothing different today. Our great country was founded on the basic idea that all man are created equal with liberty and justice for all. We must remember with rights comes responsibility. The responsibility to respect and preserve the rights of all. I would like to leave you with this story to ponder. In Germany they came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me and by that time no one was left to speak up. If we expect our rights to be respected and protected we must speak up to preserve human rights for all humanity. We must become watchdogs of our government to insure that human rights will be respected and protected, for without human rights there is no organized government.