The Ten Minute Activist
Easy Ways to Take Back the Planet
Know Your Rights
In the United States, we hear about the right to remain silent all the time. It's repeated a thousand times a week on TV, in movies, and in children's games. Sometimes it even comes up in politics. We also hear a lot about the rights to free speech, religion, and a free press. But did you know you have the right to view art? How about the right to employment and just pay? Or the right to an education?
It's true. Such rights are clearly spelled out in a document signed by the United States: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ratified by the UN General Assembly in 1948. The declaration consists of 30 articles listing rights that apply to everyone on the planet. So if you are, in fact, a citizen of planet Earth, this document covers you.
While not legally binding, the UN document is constantly used by lawyers, parliaments, and supreme courts. That's something called precedent, and it weighs heavily in courtrooms.
As a whole, the Declaration show our species to be quite advanced, despite recent evidence to the contrary. The document is written in simple language and takes less than five minutes to read. So go ahead. Check out the UN's website to know your rights, earthling.
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