3/11/2014

Heroes in Action: How to Select a Hero

Having moved away from Hercules, Batman and the other traditional comic book and Saturday film matinee heroes, we did have a bit of debate about who should go in our list! The hero can be as diverse as the human being. It will usually come down to personal preference. Still, we had to find a bottom line, therefore there were a number of common traits that each hero in our site had to have. Finally, we decided that the real heroes in this world are those who do something to make the world we all live in a better place - those who make a difference. Some of these heroes are rich and famous, while others have died in poverty and were virtually unknown at the time. Some you will know, others will remain a mystery for you until you discover their biographies on our site. Our selection of heroes has stemmed from the recognition of three basic categories of human rights as discussed on a site designed for a study of civics and citizenship. Our In se le cting he roe s, inte rvie ws heroes are those individuals who have worked to ensure and he ate d discussion finally access to these rights as well as ensuring that he lpe d us narrow the fie ld. organisations respect the importance of these. The section on Human Rights outlines three categories of human rights. (http://www.abc.net.au/civics/rights/what.htm). We have selected our heroes to fit into either one of these categories, or into a fourth category we have called "trailblazers". While we have allocated our heroes and heroines to one of these groups, this is sometimes not an easy process. Obviously some people have made significant achievements in a number of areas. It is possible to say that all of the people in our list are trailblazers. 1. Civil and political rights: These include the rights to life, liberty and security of the individual; freedom from torture and slavery; political participation; freedom of opinion, expression, thought, conscience and religion; freedom of association and assembly. The suffragettes in our list as well as the freedom fighters of the 1960's such as Martin Luther King fit into this category. 2. Economic and social rights: These are "security-orientated" rights, for example the rights to work; education; a reasonable standard of living; food; shelter and health care. Some of the people in our site who have fought for these rights include Edith Abbott and Fred Hollows. 3. Environmental, cultural and development rights: These include the rights to live in an environment that is clean and protected from destruction, and rights to cultural, political and economic development. When we say that each person has human rights, we are also saying that each person has
http://library.thinkquest.org/C001515/heroism/select.shtml

C opyright 2000 Te am C 001515

Hero Survey What category would you place your favorite hero in? Civil & Political Rights Economic &
1/2

3/11/2014

Heroes in Action: How to Select a Hero

responsibilities to respect the human rights of others. This last category has probably seen the most activists in the last 10 years. As we struggle to take more from this planet and make more from ourselves, so too is the extent of destruction becoming apparent. People such as Jacques Cousteau, Rachel Carson and Ian Kernian have struggled not only for their rights to a clean environment, but for the rights of all of us and our children to inherit a planet that will enable a healthy life for all humans as well as animals. 4. Trailblazers: Finally, we have a group who has been included because they have done so well in their field. These we have called the trailblazers. The great writers, artists, scientists and explorers who have sacrificed much in their own lives to achieve not only their personal bests, but a sense of pride for their nation and even gender. Cathy Freeman - not only great at her sport, but an ambassador for aboriginal rights, John Lennon, the great musician who also moved on to campaign for peace and the recognition of human rights.

Social Rights Environmental, Cultural & Development Rights Trailblazer Vote!

We applaud those who achieve using their talent and hard work who then go on to support the cause of the human race as well as achieving their own personal bests. It is interesting that many of these people have also gone on to bring about significant changes in one or more of the human rights areas. While we may not have the resources behind us that some of these people have, even the smallest contributions can help to make huge differences to the lives of others.
Pre vious (He roism ) Top Ne x t (Inte rvie w with Pe te r Garre tt)

http://library.thinkquest.org/C001515/heroism/select.shtml

2/2