Is access to water a basic human right? Imagine if you will that it is not. You have no right to sail and see the horizon. You have no right to kiss the love of your life in the pouring rain. No right to jump in a puddle just to make a splash. No right to catch a snowflake on your tongue. You will never hear a teapot whistle or the crash of a wave. You do not own the sweat on your brow at the end of a hard day. You will never wash the mud from your eyes and the tears that roll down your cheeks are not yours. Is access to water a basic human right? Imagine it is not. Does someone own the shade on a hot day? May only the beautiful fall in love? Are words the exclusive property of poets? Is knowledge only for the rich and the powerful... ...and does one nation hold the patent on happiness? Is access to water a basic human right? If it is not, then we are all dying to be alive in a desert life. For freedom is not that cool drink down your throat but the knowledge that somewhere... ...there is a deep well waiting to quench your thirst. For access to water is a heartbeat, and we are all human beings. And we have the right to tell jokes, even when no one laughs. We have the right to sing and sing off key. We have the right to dream dreams that will not, in our lifetimes, come to fruition. We have the right to love those that will never, ever love us back. We have the right to be wrong, again and again until we get it right. In essence, we have the right to be terribly, unabashedly, recklessly alive... ...and no one can take that from us. Because those who hunger and thirst shall be fulfilled. Because that boy without shoes could be king and that girl you never gave a second glance could be a beauty queen. Because they can take away the prize, but they can never take away your right to try. So is access to water a basic human right? If it is not, then I may not draw breath to ask the question.