Nation building or nation wrecking

I am not an expert on human rights. But I have lived in various societies to know what human rights means to me.
This is what I can say.

When you have human rights in a society, it is easy to build on it. You have the legislative framework and supporting institutions (independent judiciary and law enforcement, etc) in place. So it is a matter of improving them. How do you build on it? You nurture all the democratic practices, free press, engage all in policy debates, improve access to all levels of government, fund the opposing sides of politics, encourage the growth of interest groups, increase transparency in government, make sure the checks and balances work.
It is easy to wreck it too. Start off by electing the wrong leader and party. He puts his own people to head the public service, the law enforcement, the military and the judiciary. (On the latter, Pakistan and Malaysia come to mind. They have done that). Then the supporters are rewarded with money politics. The ruling party takes vast interests in business. The supporters with positions too start to abuse their positions and take their share of corrupt money. Then every public servant and policeman wants bribes. Corruption becomes the way of life. The leader prolongs his time in power. The opposition parties are suppressed through money politics. The constitution is changed many times. The media is controlled tightly. The oppostion is arrested without reason under some internal security law. Human rights is eroded. The people has little say or the means to change things. The democratic right to vote means nothing anymore.
When the nation has been wrecked, it becomes difficult to unravel the mess.

I wish I have a solution, but I don’t.
Wherever you live, be watchful. Do whatever you can before it is too late.