Why Do We Fight For The Rights Of Others?

Since the beginning, humans have been held to certain standards regarding morality our rights as humans. History shows us leaders and rulers who, in their reign of power, have misused their power and attacked human’s rights to agency and liberty. By looking at all the wars, violence, criminals, and acts of immorality that humans have accomplished, many assume that humans are not good at fighting for the rights of others. However, in every war, and every act of violence, there is an opposing force. There will always be someone fighting for the good of others, whether it be one person or a whole army, which comes to show that humans are essentially good at fighting for the rights of others. Written and published in 1954, Elie Wiesel’s Night

David Cash was a witness to the molestation and murder of 7-year-old Sherrice Iverson. Though Cash saw this happen, instead of going to the authorities, Cash decided to keep it to himself. In an Article written by Cathy Booth, Booth states, “He told the Los Angeles Times he was not going to ‘lose sleep over somebody else’s problems’” (Booth 18-19). Cash showed no remorse for doing nothing, and was angrier for losing his friend Jeremy Strohmeyer, who committed the molestation and murder. This sparked outrage at Berkley University, the college Cash attended. Students were horrified and angry at Cash. They believed that Cash had no right to an education at Berkley, having done something so sickening, and many students felt unsafe with Cash on campus. The students fought to have Cash expelled from the university. Booth quoted sophomore Keith Palfin, “’I’m appalled to be at the same campus with this guy. A 7-year-old girl lost her life, and he’s bragging about getting chicks?’” (Booth 56-58). This action against David Cash shows that people did notice the violation of human rights that occurred. They fought for those human

In an online article written by Rosa Freedman titled “The Lack of Basic Human Rights Around the World: A Harrowing Reality”, Freedman States, “A day does not go by withouth news reports of grave human rights abuses in countries across all regions of the world” (Freedman 9-10). These abuses, such as inequality, slavery, torture, and gender roles are impossible to miss. They occur every day. What is being done to end these abuses? Who is fighting to end it? It seems as though this abuse will never end. Though many people see it that way, an online article written by Eric Posner says different. In Posner’s article, titled “The Case Against Human Rights”, Posner writes, “At a time when human rights violations remain widespread, the discourse of human rights continues to flourish” (Posner 36-37). This means that humans have not forgotten the rights of others. To many, violation of human rights is a serious issue. This shows that for every negative force, there is always someone who recognizes the wrong and seeks to correct