"Americans have never been slow to deny others their civil rights."
That was a quote I read on the internet not long ago. (Lost the source, sorry.)
It got me to thinking. There are many cases of Americans denying others the rights granted by the Constitution (1917 Espionage Act, World War II Japanese internment), and denial of rights was even written into the Constitution (Slavery).
The Civil Rights era is the most famous example of Americans standing up for the rights of others, came after nearly a of "Jim Crow," and was led mainly by Africans-Americans.
So the writer's point is that Americans don't worry too much about Constitutional rights of being denied, so long as it seems not to interfere with what they see as their own self interest.
Do you think this is true? And if it isn't, can you think of an example of Americans stopping an attempt to deny others their rights?
That was a quote I read on the internet not long ago. (Lost the source, sorry.)
It got me to thinking. There are many cases of Americans denying others the rights granted by the Constitution (1917 Espionage Act, World War II Japanese internment), and denial of rights was even written into the Constitution (Slavery).
The Civil Rights era is the most famous example of Americans standing up for the rights of others, came after nearly a of "Jim Crow," and was led mainly by Africans-Americans.
So the writer's point is that Americans don't worry too much about Constitutional rights of being denied, so long as it seems not to interfere with what they see as their own self interest.
Do you think this is true? And if it isn't, can you think of an example of Americans stopping an attempt to deny others their rights?