Why Do We Need Human Rights?

The Homo Sapien domain on earth has been growing with greater intensity and momentum for the past millennium. Over these years many wars, golden ages, and kingdoms have come and gone and have testified to this instinctual fact of human nature. Many philosophers and tyrants, leaders and warriors have made their mark in history, and throughout all of history, many characteristics associated with human behavior have remained unchanged. The quest toward immortality has been attempted by many, but the simple fact of life is that we are mortal, no one can live beyond his/her lifetime, but the lesson to be learned here is that human instinct will always live on.

Human characteristics, labeled human instinct, have many varying degrees. One of the first fundamental principles that dictates human behavior is the instinctual need for human beings to have security from external threats and dangers. Once such a basic need is satisfied, the next need comes into play. You may ask what this has anything to do with injustices around the world, but it is important to understand this basic principle in order to properly examine justice through an educated eye.

Here in America, many of us may take common rights for granted. These rights were instituted in the U.S. Constitution to address many of these core instinctual needs. However, these basic human rights are sometimes taken for granted. If one were to examine the common needs or desires of a common American teenager with another teen from a third world country, he would discover that there is a huge contrast in the magnitude of one’s needs. The contrast exists between that everyday American teenager who just wants that new outfit at the mall, compared to the scared Palestinian child in Gaza who just wants to know if his family will be safe from being military raids that night.

This sharp contrast stems from the different outlooks that these two individuals have on life. ‘The American Kid’ doesn’t need to worry about his security in America. In a relative civil society with fair court systems and guaranteed rights, his instinctual need for security is already addressed, so he psychologically moves down the spectrum until a new need is found. In America, a lot of major instinctual needs are taken care of and thus time is made for more mundane desires. The Palestinian boy however can’t really care for any type of clothing in his current predicament. If he can’t survive, there is no need for any clothes.

I am explaining human instinctual necessities because it is important to understand this before we move on to other topics. It makes it easier to understand the importance of the Bill of Rights, which addresses these necessities. It also makes it easier to understand the need for such rights in other countries if justice is to truly prevail. The Palestinian boy does not live in a country that guarantees relative security. He does not have a 'Bill of Rights' to give satisfy those needs. That is why for proper democracy and justice to work, we must examine these barriers and do our best to break them down.

"He who sacrifices his Liberty over Security deserves neither"
--Benjamin Franklin