What does one think of when they think of human rights?

Health. Education. Water. Shelter. There are several rights that come to mind which are necessary for simply continuing to be alive. However, human rights are much more than the right to survive, because living means more than surviving.

Regardless of where we are or what we do in our daily lives, we all possess the right to exercise one human right in particular that is often not utilized to its full potential: freedom of speech, the ability to advocate for oneself. Most civil right movements have stemmed from self-advocacy by minorities. Fighting against discrimination through protests and demonstrations is what preceded movement wins.

Without self-advocacy, women would not have the right to vote or serve in the military, people in same-sex relationships would not have the right to marry or adopt, and there would be few protections from workplace discrimination for women, people of color, and the LGBT+ community. However, these movements could not have reached their successes without help from others outside the groups impacted.

If you want to help those with fewer rights provided to them in our legal system, use your voice to amplify the voices of those who do not have the same opportunities, whether that opportunity happens to be access to bandages or access to an equal wage. Freedom of speech is intertwined with the expansion of human rights supported by those who govern us.

Be grateful for the rights already available, and speak up for the ones that others do not have yet. By setting this precedent and activity in hand, we can set towards the ultimate goal of having all people in the world be able to speak their opinions and thoughts without being judged or punished for it.