Essay..?
As human beings, we have the natural want for equality. Most people have a desire for fair treatment. Some are too shy and apprehensive to battle for their human rights. This country wasn’t always free. There are still thousands of stereotypes and unequal treatment cases lingering around. Most of the unaccepted people are shunned out by us though, Society. Rather than choosing to help and stand up for people just like us, we choose hate and belittlement. Luckily, some adept people have devoted their lives to the fight for change. Self-motivation causes one to strive to make the world a better place for the people around them. There are great examples of this characteristic in around us. There are three examples we read whereas people stood up for human rights: Flowers for Algernon, Harriet Tubman: Conductor of the Underground Railroad, and The Mysterious Mr. Lincoln.
The first case of people fighting for equality is when they stand up for those being jeered. In Flowers for Algernon, there is a mentally handicapped man named Charlie. His coworkers and community make fun of him and even use the term ‘pulling a Charlie Gordon’ when someone makes a mistake. After Charlie realizes his so called ‘friends’ are actually tormenting him, he becomes quite upset. “They were laughing at him because he was mentally retarded…I jumped up and shouted, "Shut up! Leave him alone! It's not his fault he can't understand. He can't help what lie is! But for God's sake . . . he's still a human being!" Here Charlie stands up for a waiter in a café being laughed at because he was mentally handicapped. Charlie took his own courage to stand up for him, to make him feel as an equal.
This occurred once more in the story. “Frank Reilly came over and said Charlie if anybody bothers you or trys to take advantage you call me or Joe and we will set em straight.” Another person stood up to fight for fair treatment of us humans. People want to stand up against ones who badger their confidants.
Another scenario where people are motivated for human rights is when they fight against racism. In Harriet Tubman: Conductor of the Underground Railroad she didn’t quite get rid of slavery, yet she worked hard to make sure people escaped the cruelty held in America. She went out in the middle of the night and gathered groups of slaves, taking them hundreds of miles on foot north to Canada. “There were moments where she was half afraid… if they were caught the slaves would be whipped… she would surely be hanged” (p 263) This shows she cares more about helping the slaves than her own life. That is sincere determination. They survived only on Harriet’s optimism and reassuring stories of successful trips. “They stumbled along behind her, half-dead for sleep, and she urges them on, though she was as tired and discouraged as they were... She kept painting wondrous word pictures of what it would be like” Harriet was just as tired as the slaves but no matter what kept pushing on all for them. Eventually, Harriet and others on the Underground Railroad provided the slaves with shoes, warmth, and food once every stop. This is a stunning story that shows that humans will do anything to fight for our rights.
The final illustration where people take action to ensure equality is