When it comes to human rights, Americans put their country at the top of the list of good guys, wanting to believe that the U.S. is a guardian angel for the repressed and an unchallenged example to the world. One of them is Douglass Cassel. There is an impression that the world looks to the United States for guidance on human rights. We are perceived as a leader when it comes to doing the right thing.
Every country has problems of human rights.
There is not now and never will be a human-rights paradise. I would take a little bit of issue with a blanket assertion that the U.S. is viewed around the world as a human-rights leader. Yes, we tend to have greater espect for human rights than most countries do. Yes, we often take the lead when pushing for human rights in other countries, when our record is mixed both at home and abroad. Probably the issue of greatest concern to other democracies is our death penalty.