If we are to live as informed and empathetic citizens of the global community, the topic of human rights must be at the center of our minds.  The more life I live, the more I am fascinated by this topic and the profound questions it raises. We could consider this topic from a political or social angle, investigating how diverse groups of people can put the idea of “universal human rights” into action.  We could also consider it philosophically, asking the questions if or why a human beings might inherently deserve certain rights.

However, before we get to such deep questions, I see this blog as a place for you to do some personal reflection as we are beginning this aspect of our unit.  Think about questions like these:  Which basic human rights do you think are most important?  Which do you think are the most difficult to fully ensure, or are most likely to be withheld in today’s world?

In your writing, please draw upon your personal perspective and experiences to explain your answers!  Do some storytelling!  And for the purposes of simplifying things and giving credence to how most people discuss this topic, you may with to consult the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights that we discussed in class with the TED video.  You can find the original document here, or a nicely simplified version here.