LatinaLista — Today is the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This year’s theme is “Dignity and justice for all of us.”
Cartoonist Jerry Robinson’s interpretation of Human Rights is part of the United Nations’ Sketching Human Rights Cartoon Exhibit.
When we think of human rights we think of the extreme cases of oppression, imprisonment for having alternative views, government ruling through fear and intimidation. All of these examples put the onus of violating human rights with a third entity or the government.
No one likes to think that they may have a personal hand themselves in violating someone’s human rights. Whether it be through discrimination, bullying, domestic violence etc., it’s easy to see that human rights violations take many forms and all feature a way to oppress others.
In the United States, the human rights of undocumented immigrants, innocent Latinos targeted by rabid racist teens, women victimized by domestic violence, girls and boys trafficked for sex, gays, lesbians, African Americans…are all victims of human rights abuses.
While it’s so easy to look and lay blame elsewhere, this day marks a time when we need to reflect on our own values and attitudes and how we are passing these same ones on to our children, families, neighbors and communities.
Human Rights day is more than just one day out of the year remembering how people are being treated — it’s remembering everyday how we should treat others.
60th Anniversary of Human Rights Day calls for greater vigilance in our own attitudes towards one another
