Web Exercise #2
Civil Rights
Some of the most high profile activist organizations pursue their own vision of rights. Rights are not always the goal of these groups. Quite often they are the tools for achieving their political goals. Rights can be an end in themselves, but having a right declared (by the courts, Congress or whoever) will not change anything. As the text states rights are not "self-implementing." That is: rights are simply a resource for further political battle.
An example may make this clearer. Racial discrimination in selling and renting property is illegal. Unfortunately it happens frequently anyway. Having the right does not guarantee that discrimination will not happen, it means that the courts provide an avenue for action against those who illegally discriminate. If every instance of illegal discrimination ended in a courtroom, the legal system would have to shut down. Therefore rights-based organizations often select particular cases and finance the legal costs. These organizations then use these highly visible court cases to prompt elected officials to make policies which enforce these rights.
Go to the Bill of Rights Links <
http://www.smpcollege.com/smp_govt/bor.htm> page at St. Martin's Press. Choose one of the organizations that focus on certain rights. In which rights are they interested? What strategies do they use to promote these rights? Read the section of the text entitled "The Politics of Rights" in Chapter 6 for help in completing this assignment. How do you feel about the positions taken by this organization?