May 15^th is Bloggers Unite for Human Rights.  On this day, bloggers from around the world are posting articles on human rights issues, potentially reaching millions of readers in a single day.  As one watches newscasts, reads the papers and communicates with people from around the globe, it becomes clear that the most pressing issue in human rights varies with location.  As far as rights go, the United States is an advanced culture, but not as advanced as some other countries such as Sweden.  Meanwhile, people in other locations continue to live under tyrannical governments where their every move is watched, regulated, and subject to severe restriction and punishment.  And then, there are those citizens who are still living in the most abject poverty where basic necessities such as clean drinking water and adequate food sources are nonexistant. 

How, then, does a writer choose which human right to address?  Amnesty International joined in the Bloggers Unite for Human Rights campaign and put forth suggestions such as the continued abuses in Darfur, wrongful imprisonment of a journalist in China, and illegal detentions at Guantanamo Bay.  But that was before the cyclone in Myanmar, where a military government is strictly controlling the flow and disbursement of aid supplies.  What about the millions of children who die each year of malaria when a simple $10 mosquito net can drastically reduce the illness?  How does one put forth a push for education when a mother in the rainforest is clearing a layer of scum off of a bowl of water before giving it to her child?  Can we beat the race against time to convince a Cambodian father of his daughter's inherent self-worth as a person before he sells her to the highest bidder for a brothel? 

If asked to define a human right, one finds it difficult to put into words.  The right to live freely; to earn a living and support a family; to be granted adequate access to clean water and nutritious food; to seek medical care for one's self and children; to express personality and opinions without fear; to explore, learn, and educate one's self; to question and understand the truth of the Universe and one's own spirituality; to choose one's leaders and the laws under which one's daily life will be lived; these are all basic human rights, granted as an integral part of being a member of the human race.  And yet, a human right is more than the sum total of these things.  It is an ideal toward which to strive and believe that, when reached, the world would be a peaceful, joyous and wonderous place for all who live in it. 

Ask what a human right is, and the struggle for definition is a long one.  But ask if a human right has been violated, and a resounding "Yes!" is sufficient answer.  The underlying truth of the ideal resides deep in the hearts and psyche of the human race.  Human rights are the fuel that fire our ambition, our creativity, our productivity, and our social consciences.  The deep-seated knowledge of these rights is at the very core of that which sets apart our humanness.  If, then, armed with this answer that is ethereally tethered to our species, we entered each decision with it at the forefront, would Bloggers Unite for Human Rights even be necessary?  

If all people were granted the basic human right of being human, the definition of all other rights would prove impertinent.  They would simply be, automatically recognized and innately honored by all other beings.  Power struggles would falter, greed would subside, rape and torture would cease, and domination would desist.  The solution to human rights issues lies within each of us, and within the decision makers.  To find it, those decisions need only be made with one choice: the choice to allow one to simply be human.

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