What does the phrase “human rights” mean to you?
Most likely you think of Argentina and the thousands of disappeared; the terrifying atrocities in Rwanda, or tortue in El Salvador. But international human rights advocates want to bring their causes home to you. For one thing, they say human rights abuses aren’t just happening in some benighted corner of the Sudan, they are occurring in American prisons not far from where you live. Furthermore, they make the case that human rights abuses in countries like Indonesia can affect your pension plan, and overcrowded Russian jails are breeding tuberculosis germs that have already disembarked here in America.
But are they right? The Sierra Club and the National Rifle Association have more members than Amnesty International, because Americans tend to worry about America first. Making the case for compassion, at home and abroad.
(Hosted by Nina Totenberg)
Guests:
Robert F. Drinan, S.J., author of “The Mobilization of Shame: A Worldview of Human Rights”
William F. Schulz, executive Director of Amnesty International, author of “In Our Own Best Interest: How Human Rights Benefits us All”
Richard Newman, research officer at the WEB Dubois Institute in Boston.