A Fight Over Supplies
(from H. transformans:  The Origin and Nature of the Species)
Illustration by Epic Made

     H’Ilgraith described to Jak the conditions she had seen in Cassius villages. “Their huts are little more than mud and straw and barely provide any shelter from the elements,” she told him. “There is no heat in the winter. Any who fall from illness or injury will be fed to the animal hybrids that guard the village. The villagers are prisoners not only of their own deformities but also of the armed guards who keep them captive. Although most of the guards are hybrid humanoids themselves, they fight each other for a portion of the supplies while the villagers, who are starving, receive nothing. The inhumanity is more than I can stand. So I forage at night, mostly as a badger, to find food for them and leave it nearby.”  (Excerpt from H’Ilgraith, Sister of the House of H’Aleth.)

A Brief History

On December 10th each year, Human Rights Day commemorates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. The rights outlined in this document are similar to those found in the United States Declaration of Independence (1776), the Constitution (1789), and the Bill of Rights (1791): freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, and freedom from undue search and seizure. The UDHR also recognizes principles of equality and non-discrimination.

On December 10, 1949, President Truman issued the first Presidential Proclamation for Human Rights Day. In this proclamation President Truman stated that “the attainment of basic rights for men and women everywhere is essential to the peace we are seeking.” He also designated December 10 of each year as the “United Nations Human Rights Day”.

Rights and Responsibilities

The Declaration of Independence  asserts “…that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The United States Constitution and Bill of Rights support these beliefs.  The rights of all Americans are protected under them.

The Bill of Rights comprise the first ten amendments to the US Constitution.  They were written to provide additional protection of individual liberties.  The amendments that support the “unalienable rights” of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are:

Amendment I – freedom of religion, freedom of speech, right to assemble;

Amendment II – to keep and bear arms;

Amendment IV – to be safe from unreasonable search and seizure;

Amendment V – not to be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law;

Amendment IX – not to have their rights taken away by the government or other people.

It is our responsibility to extend these rights to all American citizens, whether native born or naturalized.  In so doing, we protect ourselves as well as our fellow Americans. We should also support these rights for other people around the world who do not have the protections we enjoy.