About
James O'Neill, director of the Thiel Foundation, presents two forceful maxims to the audience: "follow the money" and "follow the violence." The words leave no room for hesitation, putting forth a clear call to action for anyone who has the courage to answer it. By following the money and discovering those who benefit from a particular law or action, an activist can usually find the person responsible for human rights violations. Following the violence can be trickier because even democracies can be guilty. Consequently, those who take on the fight for human rights must have the "fearlessness of a martyr" and "the creativity of an inventor or explorer." They must be willing to question the conventional wisdom, but more importantly, they must be willing to push fundamental truths. Often, achieving human rights does not come about from discovering new knowledge, but from forcing people to confront something they already know is wrong. Unfortunately, people can be strongly biased toward governments that benefit them and, therefore, unwilling to judge them objectively. The activists of our time must be able to incite a spirit of inquiry and a demand for justice in the face of such conflicting ties. Such people"contrarian heroes" as O'Neill calls themare vitally important in the quest to build a world where each person's human rights are fully respected.