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Article: Into the bright sunshine: the value of human rights in the United States.(Human Rights)
- Article from:
- The American Prospect
- Article date:
- October 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 The American Prospect, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THE MOST OBVIOUS VALUE of human rights to the post-Holocaust world has been to set a limit on government power and shine a light on its abuses. The limit comes from the revolutionary idea, conceived in the immediate aftermath of World War II, that all governments are constrained in their actions by the inherent dignity and inalienable rights of their people. The light comes from the people themselves, who have since risen up the world over to defend the fundamental principle that national sovereignty can never be a defense for barbarity and to demand accountability from those who violate this cardinal rule. "Save us from ourselves," Eleanor Roosevelt said as she presided ...