It is good to be protected. This helps someone feel secure and safe. No matter what you do, you have this feeling that says “go ahead and do it. I have got your back.” Trust me, there is no better feeling. Even Maslow agrees with me in his hierarchy of needs. There is a part where he classifies our needs as safety needs.

This need for protection and safety is what has brought about civil rights. These are rights that protect a person’s freedom from unwarranted intrusion by governments and private organizations. When you look at civil rights in the US and then watch a movie that involves investigation and the investigator has to inspect a house, you realize why the owner asks for a warrant. Civil rights also ensure one’s participation in the civil and political life of the state without any sort of discrimination. Other insurances that civil rights provide is people’s physical integrity and safety, protection from any sort of discrimination which may be on the grounds of gender, race, religion, age, sexual orientation and so on. Civil rights in the US also protect an individuals rights such as freedom of thought and conscience, the press, movement, religion, and speech and expression.
It is very hard to mention civil rights without giving a mention to political rights which include natural justice in law, right of participation in politics, right to assemble, freedom of association, right to petition, right of self defense and the right to vote.
Let us look at a little bit of history concerning the civil rights. The phrase itself comes from a Latin phrase, “ius civis” meaning rights of citizens. Anciently, Romans could either be free, “libertas” or servile, “servitus.” No matter their state, they all had rights in law. These rights included the freedom of religion. However, this legal doctrine was lost during the Middle Ages. Still, claims of universal rights could still be based on religious doctrine. The leaders of Kett’s Rebellion said that all bond men may be made free, for God made all free with his precious shedding of blood.
Sir Edward Coke, who was the English common law judge, revived the idea of rights based on citizenship by arguing that the English had throughout history enjoyed such rights. In 1689, the English Bill of Rights was adopted. In 1789, the US followed suit by adopting the Virginia Declaration of Rights which is the direct ancestor of the US Bill of Rights.
The US has been the home of freedom for a long time but they also had discrimination at a time in their history. This led to the Civil rights movement which began in 1848. This movement wanted equality before the law. The movement had a legal and constitutional aspect and this resulted in a lot of law-making which occurred nationally and internationally. We can say that this movement actually bared results. When we look at America now and compare it to its history, there is an increase in equality. After all, their president is black, right?

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