Pre-Law and Human Rights

This and last week we started our next unit on law and human rights.  We watched Cry Freedom, a movie about the apartheid in south africa and a south african editor attempting to publish a book about a locally famous activist against apartheid, Steve Biko.  This movie was a interesting way to start off the unit because I hadn't ever known about the apartheid and how long it had happened.  After finishing the movie and participating in some in class discussions, questions started coming into my head.  What do human rights mean to me?  How does it effect me, and the people like me?  When I first thought about the effect human rights has, I underestimated it.  Human rights does play a huge role in society today and for future generations.  But in my idea for Human rights and law to work it either can exist and thrive or not exist at all.  Thats a contradicting statement, but I think it is true.  Human rights can be put into play, setting examples for everyone to live a ideal fairness, or it can just not exist and the separation that battles with human rights today wouldn't exist.  I believe the issues with human rights start when its half way in between existing and not existing.  For example, if men all get the right to vote, but women don't, that in half way because not every human has a free right.  Human rights should be rights given to every human no matter who they are.  Why should it be called Human rights if not every human can get them?  If that isn't achieved or possible, then there shouldn't be and Human rights at all and people should be free to do anything they want because then they would be equal.