Human beings, as our country’s founders understood and perfectly articulated, are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” But, though they derive from God, these precious rights – “to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”, as well as to freedom of thought and from tyranny and torture are fragile things indeed in a temporal world governed by mortal men and women. Few people or organizations have taken a more active role in protecting these rights, often in darkest corners of the most tyrannical regimes on earth, than my friend Kerry Kennedy and the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundation she heads.

Their never-ending efforts to defend the defenseless are inspiring. The RFK Foundation has an Annual Ripple of Hope Awards in New York, where individuals are honored for their deep commitment to human rights and public service.

Giving memorable witness to the RFK Foundation’s heroic work, a past Ripple of Hope honoree said, “There’s no doubt that, at home and abroad, America is at our best when our actions match our values.” Who can disagree?