Human Rights Should Not Be Political

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. That includes political opinions. What isn’t up for debate though, is basic human rights. Why is it so hard to grasp the idea that everyone deserves equal rights? Why is a human’s basic right a political debate? All over social media, you will come across political media. Democrats and Republicans constantly at each other’s throats, fighting for what they believe is right. Where you stand politically should not determine how another human should be treated or whether or not they deserve equal rights.

Many of us never paid attention to politics when we were younger. We didn’t care for it, and we didn’t think that it would affect us in the long run. Ignorance truly is bliss. Some people choose to grow up and continue to live in their bubble of ignorance. But really, who wouldn’t wanna do that? Everything would be so much easier, hiding away from the harsh reality of the messed-up world we live in today. However, we can’t afford to have that kind of luxury, because really that’s what ignorance is, a luxury. Now, people must educate themselves and be aware of what’s going on around them. It’s sickening, thinking about how a human’s basic rights have come down to politics.

A human’s right goes beyond politics. Recently, a lot of social injustices have come to the light, and people are taking the initiative to speak out about everything and raise awareness. This would be a great way to educate others and spread the word about important issues, but instead, people have decided to turn it into something it’s not. People feel like they have to bring their political views into everything, especially when it’s the least necessary. When something socially unjust happens, a person’s first instinct shouldn’t be to figure out whether or not it aligns with where they politically stand. A person’s first instinct should be to look at the situation through humanistic eyes and consider how that issue affects the lives of other people. In the end, that’s what should really matter. 

Women’s rights, Hispanic rights, LGBTQ+ rights, African American rights, etc. The color of your skin, your gender, who you love, apparently it all comes into play when deciding whether or not you deserve equal rights. People are debating whether or not a woman should get the choice to do what she wants with her body. People are debating whether or not Hispanics should be allowed in America at all. People are debating whether or not people in the LGBTQ+ community should be able to love who they love. People are debating whether or not African Americans should be treated with the same level of respect as non-POC. There are many other socially unjust issues happening as we speak. These are all human rights that are being threatened because of where a person stands politically. None of this should be up for debate.

Whether we like it or not, human rights are being roped into politics and have been put up for debate. But we have the option to look at things from a different perspective, without letting our political beliefs get in the way. At the end of the day, we should be fighting for each other rather than against each other. We are all human and we all bleed the same.