The 13th
Amendment of the United States of America exemplifies the constitutional
protection government provides for the civil rights as well as the general
inalienable human rights of people to be free to live and to express themselves
according to their inherent beliefs and distinct customs as citizens of a
nation. Self-evident in this historic and magnificent example of the triumph of
justice and equality is the continuing struggle of certain classes within the
many nations of the world, whether defined by culture, habits, language,
gender, age or beliefs, to live according to their calling within the vast
freedom provided to them by civil laws.
Offenses
carried out against such rights of people are therefore duly punished, yet
oftentimes not without the accompanying prejudices or miscarriages of justice
by those who fail to uphold the law. Crimes against persons by virtue of their
ethnic background or nationality, though treated differently from criminal
cases, fill up our courts as they occur quite frequently in the form of petty
quarrels or conflicts between varying certain religious or political groups.
Electoral
disenfranchisement and gender biases still happen as they did decades before
because it takes time for people within a generation to unlearn what previous
generations passed on to them. Here are some ideas to consider how we can
minimize the violation of civil rights of those we often take for granted:
1. Age may define a civil
rights issue
The elderly
have certain rights society protects which many people fail to recognize or
uphold. Public transportation laws have designated seats for the elderly or the
handicapped which many ordinary passengers fail to observe.
Senior
citizens are also accorded discounts on essential goods purchases such as food
and medicine. However, some shops often arbitrarily deny these rights. For
instance, an elderly who goes out to treat his or her family is not given the
full discounted but is counted as a single consumer even though he or she paid
for the bill.
2. Privacy protection
Online
privacy as well as actual privacy are protected by the bill of rights of a
nation. However, the social media over the web provides many loopholes that
test and challenge civil rights stipulations. We still have to keep up with
this technological tool while safeguarding our privacy and the welfare of our
families.
The use of
the Internet practically allows any person to invade our privacy and even steal
information and money from us. How this new paradigm of interpersonal connection
will affect our civil rights is a new field of concern for everyone.
3. Criminal and civil
cases online
We have
heard of children and even adults who have become victims of bullying in
cyberspace. Cases of child prostitution and women exploitation have also become
profitable sources of criminal syndicates in cyberspace. These are just a few specific cases of how
civil rights are affected by modern technology.
4. Religious
discrimination continues to hound societies
With
increased mobility of workers around the world nations providing employment
opportunities to professionals and skilled laborers, criminal and civil cases
related to ethnicity or faith have caused problems between host nations and
their partner nations.
In spite of
the goodwill developed through trade and exchange of labor opportunities, human
and civil rights are often put on the line as people leave the comforts of
their homes to seek work in strange lands which are at times inhospitable to
other cultures and beliefs. Today, in Iraq, Christians are in grave danger of
losing their lives as the Iraqi regime clamps down on their perceived Christian
enemies.
One’s color
or religion can still be a cause for losing your rights or your freedom even in
the modern world as intolerance continues to rear its horned head. But each one
of is, to a certain degree, guilty of violating the rights of our neighbor one
way or another. Singing loudly on your karaoke beyond midnight when neighbors
are sound asleep is not merely an inconsiderate practice but a violation of
basic rights of others. Yet, we see this done frequently in many neighborhoods.
If we want to achieve world peace and harmony, we must start in our own homes.
