"Wherever men hold unequal power in society, they will strive to maintain it. They will use whatever means are convenient to that end and will seek to justify them by the most plausible arguments they are able to devise. Nevertheless there are possibilities of increasing social justice through the development of mind and reason.”
Reinhold Niebuhr, Moral Man and Immoral Society
The more we think about ourselves and our relationship to one another, the more kind we must become. Does this sound irrational to you? Or is it only that you ascribe sinister motives to everyone else. Why not hope in the goodness that is in another human being. Why not even act as if you believe your neighbors motive is not simply greed and self gratification? His actions could be based upon the same confused morality that you and I try to apply to our lives in the most rich and hedonistic society on earth.
"Social Justice" is not just another anti-capitalist, anti-establishment, anti-American concept. In fact it is not necessarily anti-anything. In fact social justice at its core is based upon one very basic truth...that all men are created equal. AHA! So it is a very "American" concept...free market, capitalistic, and all that? Maybe this is where the paths in the woods start to diverge.
Equality of man is not license for come what may. It is not a definition that says...o.k. I'm equal to you and you to me...so you get what you get. I have no responsibility for you. Your failures are your own; your success is your own... You are equal to me, so if I exceed you in wealth, power, and status, that is your fault, not mine. If you are hungry, tired, naked, and abused, well that is yours to bear.
So, we have to consider, that even though my environment (my parents, my skin color, my religious persuasion, etc...) has favored my "success" in the measure of this society and economic system, my success creates even greater responsibility for me to bring equality to my world. Should I now reward the lazy, no good, useless minions that can't seem to work a five day week? Yes, and I should look deeper than the stereotypes and the casual studies to find the injustices that put a person in a down-trodden position. At the end of this search, I guarantee that I will find injustice.
While we all may be created equal, we have also created ways to make life very "un-equal" for some. We have also created many systems that make life in this society a whole lot easier for others.
Why are minorities the highest percentage of the prison population? Because they're born to be criminals? Why do land-locked countries have lower GDP and lower wages? Why does the African continent have higher instances of poverty than the rest of the world? Because these people are just stupid, corrupt, immoral? The entire race??? There is injustice in this world. Just because we are the haves, and others are the have-nots...doesn't mean we are right and blessed, and they are wrong and cursed.
Our material "blessing" is our curse because we have become numb to the things that really matter. The capital that we should be spending is our time. The investment vehicle with the greatest return is relationships...and not just with those like us, or who can get things for us. Relationships that are mutual, loving, and full of respect and hope are priceless. And, whether we like it or not, we are "in relationship" with everyone else in this world. What we do affects one another. The effect is magnified by the amount of time we spend with others. And time, is something we all have in equal supply. How we spend it can be dictated and controlled by our own actions and the actions of others.
Our effect and the effect of others upon us is inescapable. But, it can be beautiful, if we use it for the right purpose. Figuring out that purpose brings us back to the Niebuhr quote above. The mental exercise he prescribes has purpose...it can change the world, by changing you.
The more we think about ourselves and our relationship to one another, the more kind we must become. Does this sound irrational to you? Or is it only that you ascribe sinister motives to everyone else. Why not hope in the goodness that is in another human being. Why not even act as if you believe your neighbors motive is not simply greed and self gratification? His actions could be based upon the same confused morality that you and I try to apply to our lives in the most rich and hedonistic society on earth.
"Social Justice" is not just another anti-capitalist, anti-establishment, anti-American concept. In fact it is not necessarily anti-anything. In fact social justice at its core is based upon one very basic truth...that all men are created equal. AHA! So it is a very "American" concept...free market, capitalistic, and all that? Maybe this is where the paths in the woods start to diverge.
Equality of man is not license for come what may. It is not a definition that says...o.k. I'm equal to you and you to me...so you get what you get. I have no responsibility for you. Your failures are your own; your success is your own... You are equal to me, so if I exceed you in wealth, power, and status, that is your fault, not mine. If you are hungry, tired, naked, and abused, well that is yours to bear.
So, we have to consider, that even though my environment (my parents, my skin color, my religious persuasion, etc...) has favored my "success" in the measure of this society and economic system, my success creates even greater responsibility for me to bring equality to my world. Should I now reward the lazy, no good, useless minions that can't seem to work a five day week? Yes, and I should look deeper than the stereotypes and the casual studies to find the injustices that put a person in a down-trodden position. At the end of this search, I guarantee that I will find injustice.
While we all may be created equal, we have also created ways to make life very "un-equal" for some. We have also created many systems that make life in this society a whole lot easier for others.
Why are minorities the highest percentage of the prison population? Because they're born to be criminals? Why do land-locked countries have lower GDP and lower wages? Why does the African continent have higher instances of poverty than the rest of the world? Because these people are just stupid, corrupt, immoral? The entire race??? There is injustice in this world. Just because we are the haves, and others are the have-nots...doesn't mean we are right and blessed, and they are wrong and cursed.
Our material "blessing" is our curse because we have become numb to the things that really matter. The capital that we should be spending is our time. The investment vehicle with the greatest return is relationships...and not just with those like us, or who can get things for us. Relationships that are mutual, loving, and full of respect and hope are priceless. And, whether we like it or not, we are "in relationship" with everyone else in this world. What we do affects one another. The effect is magnified by the amount of time we spend with others. And time, is something we all have in equal supply. How we spend it can be dictated and controlled by our own actions and the actions of others.
Our effect and the effect of others upon us is inescapable. But, it can be beautiful, if we use it for the right purpose. Figuring out that purpose brings us back to the Niebuhr quote above. The mental exercise he prescribes has purpose...it can change the world, by changing you.
