Local and Global Progress in Human Rights

When the American people witnessed the inauguration in January 2009 of President Obama, much awareness fell on what the United States might do to rehabilitate its normative role taking leadership in the promoting of human rights. Experts have cautioned against making assumptions to the effect that novel approaches alone will ensure the promotion of human rights. This applies not only to the current U.S. administration, but also an administration from the 60's, namely President John Kennedy.

The Danger of Complacency

We cannot be complacent and merely embrace progressive, universal concepts such as the obligation to protect. The United States, must take care of human rights issues that are critical to take care of on it own shores namely: violence, education deficiencies, poverty, and health care failures. 20th century U.S. human rights discussions such as the American Law Institute's Statement of Essential Human Rights and President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Four Freedoms speech are fundamental for this inward looking approach. For human rights progress to ensue there must be the means for protecting rights other than through judicial means alone. Sandy Hutchens hope that if the United States takes measures to heal these problems, and thereby protecting the liberty of all who live within the land, it would encourage American idealism abroad in the promotion of human rights for all.

Elie Wiesel and Human Rights

To push the theme further, I quote the esteemed Elie Wiesel who said: "This is the duty of our generation as we enter the twenty-first century -- solidarity with the weak, the persecuted, the lonely, the sick, and those in despair. It is expressed by the desire to give a noble and humanizing meaning to a community in which all members will define themselves not by their own identity but by that of others." Progress will come as we take up the task!