Freedom is the greatest right ever given humankind, and is the one on which all others hinge. Without freedom, no other right is even comprehendible, because without freedom there is no ability to exercise any right. Every bit as important as that freedom, then, is protecting freedom for all people.
Rights are not guaranteed, but given. They are ideals to be sought after, and are representative of the best possible way of life. Rights do not discriminate. They are for all people. Only because of violation of another’s rights should one’s rights ever be denied.
That’s the important thing about rights: they don’t interfere with another person. You paying for me to go see a movie isn’t a right. Because that interferes with me. Me being free to watch whatever I want is a right, though. Because that doesn’t affect you. My rights stop where yours begin, and one person cannot have more (in a perfect reality) than another. We all have the same rights given us by God.
Who protects one’s rights, then? It is not the government, at least on its own. Governments have proven throughout history to be very poor defenders of rights. America in 1776, Ireland in 1916, Germany in 1942, North Korea in 1945 and Iraq in 2003 are easy examples of this. Any country that espoused slavery clearly did a pitiful job protecting the rights of its people. Any person who finds his or her rights being stripped or denied has to take it upon him or herself to claim those rights. Not through taking them from another person, but through demanding their rights be acknowledged.
It is also necessary, from a moral standpoint, to defend each other’s rights. Firstly by not stepping on another’s even if given the opportunity. And secondly by not letting someone else step on another’s if you see them attempting to. Stopping someone from violating another’s rights is not itself a violation of rights, as no man has the right to do such. Stopping a bad action is one’s moral obligation to humankind.
It is important, then, not to voluntarily give up one’s rights. Even if it is easier. Even if it is safer. Even if it is simpler. The moment a person, group of people or society voluntarily gives up even a single right, they have opened a door that cannot be easily closed. If one right is stripped, why not another? Why not a few? Why not the whole bunch of them? The oppression of every oppressed group began through one human right being taken away, and then another. It is a domino effect that can be hard to stop once started. If you see the freedom to exercise your rights being removed, take that very seriously. Because no one who has your best interest in mind will ever try to stop you from doing something you have the God-given right to do.
