Lets begin by looking at the word "Rights" in hopes we might understand what rights really are, and are not. Nothing is guaranteed in this world, and whether you are in the right or in the wrong the outcome is not assured. A true hero can be framed for a crime and be jailed or executed in shame, tainting his reputation and that of his family for generations. And one who breaks laws their entire life, hurting many for their own personal gain, can be written down in history as a great person. This is neither the rule nor is it the exception, instead "rights" and "wrongs" have always co-existed and will continue to do so.
The use of the word "rights" has a relatively short and recent lifespan in human history, but it hasn't changed the reality of right and wrong. It's true that the civil rights movement has made significant strides and changed the way the world works, but it hasn't squashed the scourge of racism. People are still being subjected to discrimination inside and outside of institutions and government, and they don't always see justice if they can afford to pursue it. People as a whole have their rights violated each and everyday by corporations who consistently pollute the environment. Innocent people still go to jail and the guilty still go free. So what has changed?
Not much really. "Rights" are truly abstract, an idea, nothing more. They exist on paper and change from state to state, nation to nation, and across class divides. Even on paper they are interpreted differently by different people and when made law are infrequently enforced if enforceable at all. A policy that cannot be policed is called a toothless tiger, but even a toothy tiger can refuse to eat. The inspiring story of the American civil war is not so uplifting when one hears a true telling of the after story of reconstruction. A process which reduced the impact of the hard won "rights" of the newly freed slaves from an overt oppression to a covert terror campaign. Their "rights" were acknowledged by day with a wink and a nod, only to be violated in the cold, dark night; punishment for the "uppity" behavior of enjoying ones' rights.
Even today as I write this in the context of the civil rights movements newest frontier of gay marriage, recent headlines include a story of a Louisiana Justice of the peace who refuses to marry inter-racial couples. He claims he is "not racist" (few racists admit that they are racist) he simply doesn't "believe in mixing the races that way." He has been the Justice of the peace in his town for 34 years and inter-racial marriage has been legal for over 40 years, he admits refusing to marry inter-racial couples over his entire career. So what do advocates of gay marriage have to look forward to? More struggle, more discrimination, more of the same. Todays big issue is gays in the military and president Obamas pledge to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Obama may accept an individuals sexual preferences, but he can't change anyones mind on the subject, even if he changes some policy.
Now for the big question: How equal can equal rights be when Americans demand them for themselves while denying them for non-Americans? On both the topics of terrorism and immigration you will hear politicians and talking heads squeal at the notion of giving non-citizens the same rights we enjoy as Americans. Not all politicians and pundits, but the same ones who would have been railing against the civil rights movements of the past if they were born decades earlier. We all know that equal rights have been hard fought, and hard won where applicable, but the flip side is that they have been hard fought against. The racists and racism of the past is comfortably distant in history, but it's contemporary incarnation is all too prevalent.
To fight for equal rights today we must understand that our opponents have a global outlook and are afraid we might adapt one ourselves. We can no longer have the attitude or strategy that we will win rights for Americans first and then we can give them to the rest of the world somehow later. And we must be diligent against the cause of rights to be a rally cry for war visited from one nation on another. The cause of rights will always be fought between peoples and governments, and this can be done most effectively if we globalize our goals. We may not be able to rush the cultures of the world through hundreds if not thousands of years of evolution, but we can unite as people and find our common values and goals. Rights are not perfect in any country and no nation can claim to be the authority for all, they are human rights and and they should be of, by, and for all the people of the world, equally.
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