“Where after all do human rights begin? In small places, close to home…Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.”

The above are the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, primary architect of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Though the Declaration has been adopted by all 192 members of the United Nations, there has been a wide gap between what has been put down on paper and reality. Much of the discrepancy is due to failure to uphold them in “the small places” of local communities.

Looking “close to home,” in any bustling American city reveals a sad story of far too many people who have not taken the former First Lady’s warning to heart. Take, for example, human trafficking and slavery. It is Read the rest of this entry »