Is there a connection to the American civil rights movement?
Americans should be inspired by our own civil rights movement to support advocates struggling for individual rights today in the Middle East. Not too long ago in a region not far away (i.e., the American South), enormous obstacles stood before anyone seeking to challenge the status quo repression of minority rights. Antagonism – fueled by harsh legal restrictions, terrorist violence, and social ostracism – was compounded by the apathy of free people who knew something was wrong yet chose to abdicate. Still, small bands of activists using non-violent methods began to confront injustice and indifference. This movement relied on international attention and the outside support – financial, moral, and strategic – mostly from young people. Young people led, and political leaders followed, eventually helping to break the back of institutionalized repression.
