Neysa Gorski

1/30/18
English
Massie
Final English Essay

Have you ever wondered what it was like to live without Human Rights? Human Rights is

what gives people the right and just to do certain things. The official Google definition is, “a right

that is believed to belong justifiably to every person.” Throughout the speeches/writings by

Martin Luther King Jr., Eleanor Roosevelt, and Malala Yousafzai, they all a common claim. All

three articles have the central claim of fighting for human rights. All three have different ways of

fighting for human rights: racism, adopting the human rights Declaration, and education.

In “The Birmingham Letter” by Martin Luther King Jr., the central claim of the text is to

solve racism without using violence. In this case, King is fighting for human rights due for

racism. He uses the word “nonviolence” and “violence” over and over as a rhetorical device to

develop that there are better ways to solve things. In King’s letter, it states, “​Over the past few

years I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be

as pure as the ends we seek. I have tried to make clear that it is wrong to use immoral means to

attain moral ends.” This evidence shows that human beings should be able to achieve their goal

without having to resort to doing something as low​ as violence on ​both ends. Earlier in the letter,

it mentions, “We must come to see that, as the federal courts have consistently affirmed, it is

wrong to urge an individual to cease his efforts to gain his basic constitutional rights because

the quest may precipitate violence. Society must protect the robbed and punish the robber.”

This evidence indicates that instead of punishing/hurting the person taking action, they need to

do something about the people committing actual crimes.

Secondly, “On the Adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights” by Eleanor

Roosevelt. The central claim of this article is fighting human rights for the adoption of the
 Declaration. Eleanor Roosevelt uses the word “agreement” which shows that it would make the

assembly and the readers lean towards agreeing to adopting the Declaration of Human Rights.

In Roosevelt’s speech, it says, “​It is not a treaty; it is not an international agreement. It is not and

does not purport to be a statement of law or of legal obligation. It is a Declaration of basic

principles of human rights and freedoms, to be stamped with the approval of the General

Assembly by formal vote of its members, and to serve as a common standard of achievement

for all peoples of all nations.” This evidence reveals that the Declaration of Human Rights would

be adopted and applied to every single person no matter where they were. Later in the speech,

it mentions, “​The central fact is that man is fundamentally a moral being, that the light we have

is imperfect does not matter so long as we are always trying to improve it … we are equal in

sharing the moral freedom that distinguishes us as men. Man’s status makes each individual an

end in himself. No man is by nature simply the servant of the state or of another man … the

ideal and fact of freedom -- and not technology -- are the true distinguishing marks of our

civilization.” This evidence means that it is important that all humans have freedom and human

rights no matter what their age is, what their race, and etc.

Lastly, in “Address to the United Nations Youth Assembly”, Malala Yousafzai’s, she

fights human rights in education. Yousafzai repeats the words “brothers and sisters” which

further develops her fighting for youth’s education. It shows that she believes younger children

should be able to get education no matter where they live. In the speech, it states, “Dear sisters

and brothers, I am not against anyone. Neither am I here to speak in terms of personal revenge

against the Taliban or any other terrorists group. I am here to speak up for the right of education

of every child. I want education for the sons and daughters of all the extremists especially the

Taliban.” This section of Malala’s speech shows that she cares more about youth education

​ than she does about who is violent or not. She wants ​everyone to be able to have human rights
and be able to go to school. It does not matter if they are related to the Taliban or not-- she still

wants them to get education. The speech also mentions, “Even if there is a gun in my hand and

he stands in front of me. I would not shoot him. This is the compassion I have learnt [...]”. This

quote shows that no matter how much people have used violence to reach their goals, Malala

would continue fighting for her goal of youth education and human rights without using violence.

In conclusion, all three of these people are fighting towards the same goal: Human

Rights. Though they are all fighting for different parts of human rights, they all want the same

thing: Freedom. Our society’s progress towards reaching justice and human rights has

increased greatly. It is no longer like before where people of different color were separated from

each other. Everyone can now go to school as long as they are given a chance. Everyone has

freedom, justice, and human rights.