What is Humanity?

The definition of humanity is the human race, or human beings collectively. Another definition says that it’s the quality or state of being human. So, what exactly is this? Some people say that it’s a virtue, meaning to befriend and tend to others. Nelson Mandela once said “To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.” This means that denying people their rights takes away a sense of humanity. What is the true meaning of humanity?

In the book, First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung, the author and her family are involved with the Cambodian genocide. On April 17, when Loung was five years old, her family along with millions of others, were set on the road. They had to leave all of their belongings behind and walk for up to 10 days. Loung is in different work camps over time. Sadly, both of her parents, as well as two of her sisters die. Her battle inside is long and hard, but she overcame it to write two books and reconnect with her siblings.

Humanity, as we already know, is a virtue, a way of life, and in some ways it’s an underground rulebook. It’s thought to be the stepping stairs to society and acting accordingly. It’s not just that, though. It also gives people hope for a better future. Humanity is worth a lot. There are seven billion people in the world, so some people say that it’s worth seven billion lives. In a way, it is. Phillip Caldwell said “it takes a team.” It really does take a team of the entire world to keep humanity up and running. On page 102 in First They Killed My Father, Loung says “I think that the world is somehow beautiful even when I feel no joy being alive within it.” Her faith in humanity was lost because of the Khmer Rouge. Humanity is threatened when bad things happen, a...

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...uences for when humanity is lost. It can bring down the world as quick as it needs to.

Humanity is a tough subject to deal with. It can be lost, threatened, and there are many consequences when it is lost. There are also multiple definitions of humanity, meaning from a virtue to just being a human. Hope comes from humanity, which includes the sense that everything could be fine, and the sense of reality. As seen in multiple genocide books, when one loses hope, they give up on life. This relates to Akiba Drumer, who lost hope and died. It also relates to the cousin from Antwerp, the woman in First They Killed My Father who’s three children died and she gave up. It relates to everybody in some way, because humans lose faith and hope quickly, and gain it back just as quick. Someday, there will be no more genocides, and hope, love, and humanity will thrive once more.