Answer:“Human rights” is a fairly modern concept, and it is one that has been getting a
great deal of attention here in the early years of the twenty-first century. While opinions
differ wildly about what constitutes human rights, most modern world citizens believe
that all people should have at least the most basic rights. In the following essay, I will
briefly examine this concept by discussing what I consider to be basic human rights. To
facilitate my discussion, I will categorize these rights as individual rights, national rights,
and general societal rights, and I will talk about just one right from each category.
As a basic individual right, I believe that I have a right to think anything that I
choose without hindrance or persecution. What I mean by this is that I should have the
freedom to think any way that I wish without someone telling me that I have to think a
certain way. For example, my government or workplace superiors should never tell me
that I must think a certain way, because the thoughts inside my head are none of their
business. Furthermore, I have the right not to tell people how I truly think about
something if I choose to remain silent. For example, I have the right to not say anything
about what I think to a police officer, lawyer, or judge. My right to think my own thoughts
helps me preserve my own identity, and it helps ensure that I will not get myself into
trouble if I am in a bad situation. If this right were taken away from me, I might as well
be locked into prison, because I do not believe that I could be a free individual without
my own thoughts.
One of the basic national rights that I believe that people of all nations should
have is the right to vote for the leaders who run their governments. In other words, all
people should have the right to vote in open, free, fair elections. For example, people of
all nations should choose their country’s president, prime minister, or other government representatives. This is an important national right, because people should be able to
choose their leaders instead of having their leaders chosen for them or having their
leaders decided by birth. In countries in the world where people are not allowed to vote
for their leaders, such as the People’s Republic of China and North Korea among
others, common people have no voice in their governments, and they normally also do
not have other freedoms and rights.
At the macro level of human society as a whole, I believe that all people should
have a right to the basic sustenance of food and water. It is a shame that with the
modern wonders of the twenty-first century, people in many parts of the world regularly
go without food and water for reasons other than those caused by natural disasters. For
example, people in many parts of the world go without food and water because of
warfare. Also, people all over the world go without food and water due to a lack of
money to buy food and water. Food and water are the basic needs of human existence.
People can live without clothing and shelter – let alone automobiles, cellular phones,
and diamond rings – but life can survive only a limited time without food and water.
Actually, there is no recognized basic human right to food and water, but this ideal is at
the top of my list of what I consider to be general rights for all humankind.
In conclusion, I believe that any concept of human rights should include the right
for individuals to think as they choose, the right for people to vote for their national
leaders, and the right for people to have food and water to sustain themselves. Without
these basic rights, I do not believe that it is possible for people to truly be free. However,
with these rights at the top of the list of basic human rights, I believe that it is possible to
achieve a world society in which all people are free and live in peace.
Explanation:As a basic individual right, I believe that I have a right to think
anything that I choose without hindrance or persecution. What I mean by this is
that I should have the freedom to think any way that I wish without someone telling
me that I have to think a certain way. For example, my government or
workplace superiors should never tell me that I must think a certain
way, because the thoughts inside my head are none of their business.
Furthermore, I have the right not to tell people how I truly think about
something if I choose to remain silent. For example, I have the right to not
say anything about what I think to a police officer, lawyer, or judge. My right to
think my own thoughts helps me preserve my own identity, and it helps ensure that
I will not get myself into trouble if I am in a bad situation. If this right were taken
away from me, I might as well be locked into prison, because I do not believe that I
could be a free individual without my own thoughts.
