This new century has brought many new things with it and one of the changes I have noticed is that civil and individual rights have been eroded or removed.
The United States was at one time considered to be the freest country in the world.
This is no longer the case, it changed after 9-11 and the introduction of the Patriot Act.
Quoting the New York Civil Liberties Union; “Through the enactment of the USA PATRIOT Act and subsequent executive directives and regulations, essential rights and freedoms that were once guaranteed to all individuals have been substantially degraded.
Many Americans still do not realize the significance of what we have lost. The resulting expansion of government powers, and the erosion of 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th and 14th Amendment rights and freedoms have transformed the United States.”
The full article as a PDF document can be downloaded here New York Civil Liberties Union
The Arab Spring was originally viewed by many, including myself as a sign that there would follow an expansion in the civil rights and liberties of people in North Africa, today I am not sure that this is the case.
It appears that those who may benefit most from the overthrow of the old ruling parties in many of these countries are the Islamist parties who are sure to restrict the rights of women and deny any rights at all to some minorities that do not conform to the limited Islamic idea of acceptable behaviour.
“The Day After” an article by Kenneth Roth of Human Rights Watch, states:
“It should be no surprise that building a rights-respecting democracy on a legacy of repression is not easy. The transitions from communism in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union yielded many democracies, but also many dictatorships.
Latin America’s democratic evolution over the past two decades has been anything but linear.
Progress in Asia and Africa has been uneven and sporadic. Even the European Union, which has successfully made democratic reform and respect for human rights conditions of membership, has had a harder time curbing authoritarian impulses once countries—most recently Hungary and Romania—became members.”
Further erosion in basic human rights have most recently put the gay minorities in Russia at risk, as stated in a publication PolicyMic
“The violations of fundamental, constitutionally protected rights of Russia’s gay and lesbian citizens have included multiple bans on gay pride parades in Moscow and other cities, hefty fines to gay rights groups accused of acting as a “foreign agent,” denial of registration to nongovernmental organizations, and regional laws banning the propaganda of homosexuality to minors, which served as a basis for the federal law enacted by Mr. Putin and unanimously passed by the State Duma.
Against this backdrop, violent attacks on gays or “suspect gays” are becoming commonplace.”
More than every, today we need to be aware of the changing political environments in our world and be ready to stand strong and protect our rights. Although the individual is limited in power, great power comes with the internet allowing our voices to be heard all around the globe.
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By Blake and Boky