With All Due Respect: Defending America with Grit and Grace

by Nikki R. Haley

I had a point and I got to it quickly. It’s one of the most important leadership lessons I’ve learned: Don’t talk for the sake of talking. When you say something, make it matter. If you agree with something, offer ways to make it happen. If you disagree, say so. But always have a plan to find a solution.

I thought human rights were important for two reasons. First, it’s the right thing to do, and it’s the smart thing for the United States to emphasize. The world’s knowledge that we respect freedom and human dignity is one of our greatest foreign-policy assets.

The right to speak freely and to associate and worship freely, the right to determine your own future and to be treated equally under the law—these are sacred rights.

They are ours by virtue of our humanity, not by virtue of the country or tribe we were born into. Americans take these rights seriously, too seriously to allow them to be cheapened, especially by an institution that calls itself the Human Rights Council.

Take a look at the countries causing the most trouble in the world, and you will see countries that are not free. Countries that honor and respect the voices of their people don’t threaten peace and security. It’s no coincidence that the world has never witnessed a war between two truly free countries.