December is Human Rights Month

I know the issue of human rights can seem pretty far away from the American mindset. Sure, we see commercials of starving kids that make us either cry or change the channel or send a few bucks in to assuage our guilt (or bad-mouth the organization running the ads to make ourselves feel better about not sending a check)—but we pretty much take it for granted that our kids aren’t going to be sold into slavery, that we can wear what we want without punishment, that we’re not going to be burned to death or hanged for being a widow, gay, or a freaking psychic.

The thing is, plenty of people in the world do have to worry about these things—and worse—on a daily basis. Could you imagine a legal system supporting your husband for murdering you for adultery? Being stoned for shaming your family? Having your kids kidnapped and put to work in brothels or private homes?

I’m not saying that we’re heartless a**holes. Okay, some of us are. But the majority of us, not faced with such horrors on a daily basis, simply don’t dwell on it. We do have families to care for, jobs to do, episodes of Project Runway to watch…

All I’m saying is that we need to stop turning a blind eye to such atrocities. This is our world too, and as citizens of it we are just as responsible to end its suffering as much as our world leaders are.

But what can I do? you ask. I’m just one person. One person can do a lot of things. One person can…

• Provide news to friends and family. Today I read that 225,000 kids in Haiti alone are working as slaves! How can we read this and not be outraged? Keep up with such stories and pass them on. (Nobody wants another “friendship day” chain letter anyway!)
• Organize an action day. It doesn’t have to be elaborate—grab five friends and designate each one a task. Have one call in a  local radio show to raise awareness, one write a letter to the editor, one design a flyer, etc. Each one could also write a letter to your member of Congress.
• Hold a fundraiser for your favorite Human Rights charity, such as the Polaris Project, Human Rights Watch, or Amnesty International.
• Sign up for alerts from your favorite organization (select one of the above or google one) and take part in their programs.

What else could one person do? I challenge you to ask yourself this question and answer it with action this month.