There is a dichotomy in the United States of America. The founding documents contain great ideals of human rights; of liberty and equal rights, and that the pursuit of happiness is considered important. An individual is recognized as important, as is individual freedom. These documents were written, for the most part by white men who owned slaves. This is where economics comes into the scene to muddy the waters. The US did not dismantle slavery in its founding moments. The compromises made to keep the original thirteen colonies together, in order to be strong enough to withstand European powers, were based on the economic structure of the South. This structure was rooted in slavery.

The attitudes formed from this dichotomy are still reverberating in our country. There are still men pulled over by the police for "driving while black". This goes deeper when white Police Officers apply force that leads to the death of a black man in what should be simple and safe encounters. While we have been experiencing trauma in our national and international communities from the threat of Covid-19, leaving our communal nerves raw, the impact of these events is reaching critical mass in our nation and is resulting in civic unrest as a form of political action.

In other guises, and throughout history, there have been many instances and some entire cultures, based on inhumanity to others of our human race. This led to the development of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 10, 1948. As most will know, this was just after the horror of the Holocaust, where Nazi Germany sought to exterminate the Jews.

There are 30 basic Human Rights set forth in this declaration. here is the first sentence of Article One, "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights."
"Human Rights must be a reality, not an idealistic dream.", L. Ron Hubbard. Help to get Human Rights taught in schools. @humanrightstampa