"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," (Matthew 7:12) has been dubbed "the golden rule," but without a doubt, it is the basis of all human rights. In South Africa last Wednesday, March 21, was a public holiday called "Human Rights Day." It  commemorates the events which transpired in 1960 at Sharpeville, when the political regime of the day fired on African dissidents who rebelled against the carrying of identification documents. Sixty-nine people met a premature death that fateful day and 179 were hospitalized. That massacre was seen as a crucial turning point in the struggle against apartheid. Obviously, history must be remembered if  the mistakes of the past are to be avoided, but are we really conscious of human rights? 

In a land where lawlessness prevails, what has happened to human rights? It appears that "human wrongs" are the order of the day as man's inhumanity to man plays out in the major metropolitan areas. Homes are invaded by thugs who have no regard for the life or property of the occupants. Though no resistance is encountered, the intruders still murder, maim and massacre with impunity. They also make off with the goods. More than 10 rapes a day are perpetrated on helpless victims in the land. We weep for the innocent little infants who are brutalized, abused and violated daily. The criminal reign of terror prevails and the powers that be fob it off as racist propaganda. But it is no propaganda when little girls are kidnapped and eventually found molested and murdered. Recently, everyone wore "pink" in their ensemble to protest the most recent molestation and murder of a little girl who was wearing a pink garment at the time of her abduction. In addition, vehicles are still being hijacked, folks are still being mugged and banks are still being robbed. It is time once again for the beloved country to cry!

Though unbridled murderers and unscrupulous thieves rob our society of its human rights, the permissive or powerless protection services appear to be in serious denial. In our neighboring Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe has the dubious distinction of having joined Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin and Idi Amin as the cruelest violators of human rights known in modern times. Let's pray for God's intervention in the killing fields there and here.

Finally, where do you and I fit in here? Do we deny our employees their legitimate wages or do we take advantage of them by specious reasoning? We can always justify our own wickedness. Do we assassinate someone's character simply because we take a morbid delight in seeing them squirm? Do we fail to meet our debt obligations because holding on to someone else's money, enriches us. Do we confront sin with a view to correction, or do we let it go even though the sinner is hell-ward bound? It we don't love our erring neighbor as ourselves, he be punished but we won't be pardoned. Don't confuse human rights with human wrongs. Don't be a part of the problem--be a part of the solution! Practice human rights in your own right! Love you all, Al Horne 

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