Friday, July 17, 2009

Small Places Close to Home


The blog name was inspired by a speech given at the United Nations, March 27, 1953 by Eleanor Roosevelt. Read the section from the speech below carefully- what does it mean to you? What are the implications for you?

'Where after all do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any map of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person: The neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm or office where he works. 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.'