When American colonists drafted the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the preamble set the tone and reasoning for the rest of the document. It also changed history for the rest of the world.

“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights; that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed; that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

Thomas Jefferson, who composed the words above, was influenced both by the thinking of the time and by philosopher John Locke to believe rights came from God and not from the State and that the State governs by consent of the governed. Monarchs, who ruled most of the western world at the time, claimed to rule by divine right deriving from the grace of God.

Locke, in his Second Treatise of Government (1690), argues that God created people free and equal in the state of nature and that, in this condition, no one is naturally sovereign over anyone else. In view of this natural equality, Locke maintains that it is a law of nature that no one should harm another person’s life, health, liberty, or possessions.

The basic rights drafted into the Declaration found their way in various forms into the Constitution ratified in 1789. The first 10 amendments spell out certain rights to speech, press, religion, and due process. The concept of Human Rights can also be found in the constitutions of many nations that have been created since 1789.

In 1948, the then new United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This declaration spelled out specific rights that all humans were due without regard to race, gender, age, religion, or national origin.

Although Humanists don’t believe, as Locke and Jefferson did, that rights come from God, we do believe that rights are created by people and that government governs with our consent and is charged with protecting our rights.

There have been times in the past and the present where rights have been suppressed. Even though the United States has a long history of human rights, we too, have had to change to grant those rights to more people. In the 20th century, amendments to the Constitution were adopted extending rights to Blacks and women and in the last 30 years, the Supreme Court, as arbiter of the Constitution, has ruled on other rights not specifically granted by the Constitution such as the right to privacy and abortion. However, I would put our human rights record against any other nation and we would still be near the top for protecting human rights. We do have more work to do on such issues as the Death Penalty and juvenile justice but compared to some countries, the US is better in the rights department.

Besides the United Nations there are several groups outside of established governments that publicize and try to correct rights abuses all over the world.

Amnesty International is one of the better known groups. They report on rights abuses in many parts of the world and defend those rights based on the philosophy of Locke and Jefferson.

Human Rights Watch, founded in 1978, is a private group based in the US that collects and publishes information human rights abuses.

Human Rights Internet, founded in 1976, is a clearinghouse for information about Human Rights groups in other countries.

Human Rights are the core to a free and just society and I strongly argue that we, as Humanists, must support the concept and statements of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and work with those groups that fight to protect and extend Human Rights to all humanity.

Posted by Doug Berger on May 20, 2000

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