Democracy and Human Rights in
the United States
Current issues important to me
Terry Arthur
Academic and Career Advisor
Department of Computer Science
College of Engineering
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA 24061
arthurt@vt.edu
Dr. James (Sean) D. Arthur
• Retired professor of Computer Science at VT
• Fulbright Fellowship
• http://fulbright.state.gov
The Fulbright Program offers grants to study,
teach and conduct research for U.S. citizens to
go abroad and non-U.S. citizens to come to the
United States.
• We have three adult children
Virginia Tech
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
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http://www.vt.edu
30,000 students
Engineering, architecture, business
Land grant university established in 1872
65 undergraduate majors
150 master’s and doctoral degree programs
Define “human rights”
A few sources include:
• UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(1948) http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
• US Declaration of Independence, adopted July
4, 1776, “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of
Happiness”
• US Bill of Rights – First 10 amendments to the
Constitution, ratified 1791
• Constitution of Croatia
US Bill of Rights
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Freedom of speech, press, assembly
Right to bear arms
Protection from quartering of troops
Unreasonable search and seizure
Due process, double jeopardy, self-incrimination, eminent domain
Criminal trial by jury, rights of the accused, speedy and public trial,
right to counsel
Civil trial by jury
Prohibition of excessive bail, and cruel and unusual punishment
Protection of rights not specifically enumerated by in the
Constitution
Powers not delegated to the US by the Constitution are reserved to
the States or to the people
We have safeguards for our rights
in the US
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Constitution
Bill of Rights
LOTS of elections, free speech, etc.
Freedoms galore
So what is the problem??
Democracy is never easy
Especially challenging in a country with a diverse
population: religion, race, nationality
We do not agree on what is a “Human Right.”
What one person sees as a “right,” another
considers a “privilege.”
We are still struggling!
What RIGHTS are we still working on?
(OR are these PRIVILEGES?)
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Health care
Immigration
Gun control
Same sex marriage
Controlled substances: marijuana and legal
drinking age
• Capital punishment
• Economy/jobs
Health care
• In 2009, 17.3% of US economy was health care ($2.5
trillion), with 16.3% uninsured.
• Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
(Obamacare), March 23, 2010 – health care reform
to reform private health insurance , extend health
care to 30 million.
• NOT popular. Some say it is too expensive , others
say it is not extensive enough.
• Individual states claim it is in violation of State
Sovereignty and that “individual mandate” not
within the scope of Congressional taxing powers.
Immigration
• All aliens over the age of 14 and who stay in the US more than
30 days must register with the Federal government
• 11.2 million illegal immigrants in the US
– Needed for the work force
– Many have been in US for years and are contributing
– Are they entitled to health care, education, etc?
– April of 2010 Arizona law allowed local law enforcement to
require that persons show documents
– Blocked by a federal judge due to racial profiling, civil
rights violation, and constitutionality
Gun Control
• According to Wikipedia, “There were 52,447
deliberate and 23,237 accidental non-fatal
gunshot injuries in the United States during
2000. The majority of gun-related deaths in
the United States are suicides,[5] with 17,352
(55.6%) of the total 31,224 firearm-related
deaths in 2007 due to suicide, while 12,632
(40.5%) were homicide deaths.”
• April 16, 2007 – Massacre at VT
Same sex marriage
• 1996 Congress passed the Defense of
Marriage Act. US government defines
marriage as between a man and a woman
• 2004 Massachusetts first state to allow same
sex marriage.
• Currently 6 states allow same sex marriage
• 9 states recognize civil unions
Capital punishment
• 34 states and the federal government allows
the death penalty
• What is “cruel and unusual?”
• 58 countries allow, 96 have banned capital
punishment
Controlled substances
• “Estimates of the total overall costs of substance
abuse in the United States, including productivity
and health- and crime-related costs, exceed $600
billion annually.” http://www.drugabuse.gov
• Currently, marijuana for medicinal use only in 16
states
• Attorney General Eric Holder said raiding for
marijuana will be a low priority
• Drinking age is 21. But with our soldiers going to war
at age 18, many want this reconsidered.
Economy/jobs
• Financial crash of 2007-2008 now called the
“Great Recession”
• Over 10% unemployment, record mortgage
foreclosures, failed banks, stock market plunge
• Occupy Wall Street – September 17, 2011, in
Zuccotti Park in NYC Wall Street district. 99%
protesting the social/economic inequality, greed,
corruption of US corporations (esp financial
corporations)
Questions for you
• What Human Rights issues do you see
unresolved in Croatia?
• What rights are there in the US that you do
not have in Croatia?
• What rights are there in Croatia that we do
not have in the US?
Rights and Responsibilities
• With “rights” comes “responsibilities”
• Discussion should be:
Democracy and Human Rights AND
Responsibilities
FINAL SLIDE!
Your responsibilities
• Do your personal best
You are in the top 1 – 5% in the world!
• Do no harm
• Serve - do something for someone or
something that cannot pay you back
So that when you leave this world, it will be a
better place because you were here.