"Justice entails a requirement to act when we become aware of injustice." --Dalai Lama
Monday, June 29, 2009
I blog about human rights every single day (see profile for link). It's been keeping me pretty busy, but it's worth it if I can make even the smallest difference.
It's good to see others working against injustice out there, it gives me a lot of hope for humanity. :-)
I am aware of many injustices going on in our world from the petty to the serious and everything in between. I'm also aware that though one person cannot singularly change the outline of history as we know it, that one person can change the views of enough people to effect a real change in the world. Ghandi famously said to "Be the change you want to see in the world" and, in essence, change starts from within.
I am a Bahá'i, a member of the Bahá'i Faith (www.bahai.org) which is currently under heavy persecution in Iran where the government is committing mass genocide on the believers in this Faith. These severe injustices are causing me to make a change by spreading the word. We all need to know what's going on. We need to be aware of injustices of all kinds in all places against all people. I am a firm believer that if you are not part of the solution then you are part of the problem. So how do we solve this problem? I don't know exactly but I know that if I let enough people know that there is a problem then someone, somewhere--with enough power to make a change--will hear about it and do something that can stop what's happening from being a reality in our world. When Hitler began his mass genocide against the Jews it didn't start big with concentration camps and what we know call the Holocaust; it started small and trickled into something much bigger. The world ignored the small trickles because it wasn't their fight and they didn't think they had a place to say or do anything to bring change...look at what's happened when we see injustice and we don't bring change. Millions were killed and those who weren't have to live with the memories of what has happened and the guilt that comes with sitting idly and doing nothing.
Be the change you want to see in the world. Fight injustice. The court case for the Baha'i prisoners in Iran is on July 11th, 2009. This day is being called Bahá'i Rights Day and Bahai's everywhere are trying to get the word out to let people know what's going on to try and raise as much attention about this problem as possible. Go to http://twitter.com/BahaiRights or http://twitter.com/bahairightsday for more information on this day.
Don't know anything about the Baha'i situation in Iran? Go to www.iranpresswatch.org or www.bahairights.org/ for more info.
@braxtonrob You and I aren't getting along. What say you just pick your fights in the shallow water. Smarter and less humilation for you. I'm giving you an out, I suggest you take it.
@braxtonrob Had you asked me why I feel the way I do, you might have been able to reach such a conclusion. But you didn't.
Which tells me that you lack intellectual curiosity and are perfectly comfortable calling people names without any real basis.
@zamfir You're absolutely right; you are not at all an idiot. I apologize.
I believe you are a flake; a radical leftist who gives ignorant thought to politics, politicians, and their true motives.
An idiot implies that you're not capable of processing the available information.
I have no doubt that you are capable - you just refuse to examine it closely or process it correctly because you are easily influenced by the TRULY stupid....Hollywood, their celebrities, and their 'news' teams on MSNBC. Barack Obama is just an ambitious politician who knows how to tell voluntarily-ignorant people, like yourself, EXACTLY WHAT THEY WANT TO HEAR.
I stand corrected.
You are...a flake.
@braxtonrob Because I support our president, I'm an idiot? Ok, whatever.
@p4bosnia Good one! Truly. (@zamfir is an idiot; amazing how American voters have been persuaded into relinquishing all their rights, and benefits of capitalism, to a 'rhetorical, political, pretty-boy', in response to an overly-greedy, stupid credit-industry-endorsing Congress, all the while being influenced by the dumbest people on the planet! ....Hollywood celebrities.)
When is that big earthquake gonna hit California, anyhow?!?
(I hope San Diego makes it, I've always wanted to go there.)
@Kiaroux That was outstanding what you wrote, "One thing that I'm always adamant about doing is changing people's perceptions about certain issues while at the same time supporting their own personal views."
Born salesperson.
The whole thing was good! Very admirable & extremely insightful.
You are destined for success.
I believe educational inequality is one of greatest injustices of our time. Education has dramatic implications on poverty, prison rates, economic opportunity, and social mobility. There is a clear and dramatic achievement gap drawn along socioeconomic lines. It is astounding and to me it is devastating. We grew up with it in our own backyards. It was all around me. When I finally connected the stats with the faces of people in the neighborhoods I drove through just a little quicker, it all hit me. It wasn't okay anymore. So I fight against it by teaching. I put myself in middle of the problem. Three years ago I joined Teach for America. I started teaching in a Title I school in downtown Phoenix. Three years later, I'm getting ready for my fourth year in the classroom. That's what I do, and I enjoy doing it. I'm more fired up about it now than I was when I started. Every time I get to see a kid put together a bigger word than he's ever read before I see a little piece of Justice right before my eyes. It's not much, but at least it's something.
justice blindfolded??? that there is the statue of liberty. she is not even related to justice. that's somebody else. sorry.
wait, we're all still buying into the idea that Democrats and Republicans are different? Wow. they've already won.
Bush I, Clinton, Bush II, Obama are all extreme liars. They all love illegal wars, devalue the middle class, break campaign promises and blame the guy before them, much to the cheering of either the Reds or the Blues. This is not baseball. Don't pick a side. Don't choose to like one and be blind to their flaws because they wear the same jersey as you. They all need to be held to account.
this quote upsets me, because i am aware of more and more injustice- things that are just so much bigger than me- things that are absolutely remote and incomprehensible. half the time, i am not well informed enough to even know what right action would be. it makes me feel like my existence, under this defenition of justice, is not justifiable. i think its important to recognize that everyone needs to work together, and that little steps count. some things, unfortunately, you have to shrug off. sometimes i wonder if evil plays an essential role in the universe? if its completely meaningless bullshit happening as an effect of the failed experiment called humanity.. the biggest battle becomes, why shouldnt i jump off a cliff and help this species go extinct already? inflammatory i know. and i dont actually believe that, im just illustrating an emotion. doenst it start to feel hopeless if you accept the fact that knowing about something wrong and not acting against it makes you partially responsible? that if youre not a part of the solution, youre part of the problem? complacence is different from being overwhelmed... its not that i'd rather retreat into blissfull ignorance, but maybe im only strong enough to face the smaller things that affect my community. or maybe big stuff can be tacked, its just that you have to pick your battles. if i had to pick one, i guess i'd try to throw a monkey wrench into the coal industry, however that could happen. cause i think its the biggest factor going into climate change, and mountain top removal is horrendous, ethically, and esthetically. but then... do i have more empathy with a pretty landscape than ill-equipped troops being forced to fight for much longer than they bargained for? but then, supporting the troops i guess suports the war, and that effort begins to drop way down on my priority list in comparison to other things like little girls being sold into sex slavery. its a tough call, where to place your efforts, what can you do? so i just dont watch the news anymore. i grow a garden, support local buisnesses, avoid the mall and big supermarkets like the plague, recycle, ride the bus, offer friendship and whatever support i can manage to people having a tough time(but even here, i discriminate between righteous folks and those who are just fucking up for themselves... i ignore crackheads, sorry.) and sometimes i pray.... and i pray that little things will be enough. cause i cant fucking protest or even stay educated and write letters, it makes me feel toxic.
Correcting the unspoken notion that members of the Kingdom of God should behave and think and look no differently than members of other nations.
injustice against children-by volunteering in taking care of abandoned children
@jleigh355 Clinton, despite his dalliances, was a good president who did a number of good things. Bush was a bad president, who did a number of bad things. Obama is a good president who has already done a number of good things, and he will help this nation. We will be able to look ourselves in the eye again.
@jleigh355 "couldnt disagree more. Obama scares me. The only reason Bush looked bad was because Clinton started him on a spiral."
I cannot even imagine what sort of Rube Goldbergian logic you must have used to justify that statement.
@Cueball i agree...i often see people who are in need of finances and I just dream of being able to help me like that. I know that i would if i had the funds to do so!! Recently I was at a subway in a very small town in my home state and there was a fundraiser flyer for a young man who was suffering from a terminal illness. How I wanted to help but couldn't!!!! It ate me up inside for a few days, I can still see the young man's face in my mind. I wish living paycheck to paycheck wasn't how life was for me. I'd want to do more. On the radio today I overheard someone stating how some athlete was getting 35 million over 2 years. I thought, wow, you know how many poeple that could help? I worked at a church for fairly affluent members of the metro area I live in and it always bothered me how people lived....if they had chosen a Honda over a Jaguar, a 450k home over a 600k home, they could donate many INCOMES a year that would make a WORLD of a difference!!! It was too hard for me to work in that environment for that reason.
Trying to actively work against the injustices against our planet... If you don't think global warming effects you... Think again. Get active.
The Dali Lama was talking about acting when there is action that can be taken. That means that when one sees another being discriminated against one acts when it is happening or even before it happens, not after the fact. If your neighbor is a single parent struggling to make ends meet one volunteers to help by watching the kids once a week so he or she can get the shopping done without dragging along all of the kids. One might act as a secret Easter Bunny or Santa to the kids or just be present to listen to the parent in times of stress. One might take in a stray animal or call the authorities when abuse is suspected. There are many types of injustice and many ways in which we can become more active in promoting justice in this world. Prevention of injustice promotes justice, fighting injustice and turning it into some high and mighty cause just adds more fuel to the fire. It is the multitudes of little seemingly insignificant actions from which real change grows in the world.
I wouldn't say that I'm actively involved in a publicly visible cause. I volunteer at the SPCA since I think that when people abuse animals, they cannot possibly have any respect for fellow human beings. One thing that I'm always adamant about doing is changing people's perceptions about certain issues while at the same time supporting their own personal views. Something I certainly want to get rid of in this world (an injustice that all of us will face at some time) is that of judging others before hearing their side of the stories and experiencing life from their perspective.
@Cueball I read that argument in my ethics class, and I fully agreed. Amazingly, most people didn't. I think that those with truly good intentions will come up with reasons to serve others even without personal gain; and as for those who disagree, well, I have to wonder if their "philosophical" criticisms were more personal than they admitted. It's uncomfortable being reminded that, as you said, turning a blind eye really can't be excused. Even without a logical or selfish reason to work for justice, it's hard to justify NOT doing something. If nothing else, it's simple utilitarianism- the benefit of society as a whole is what's important.
That sounds like a really interesting charity. Do you help raise money, or are you actually building schools, or what?
I'm actively working to help my GLBT friends gain the same rights that I have as a straight American. I do not want them to be defined by their sexuality, but, right now, that tiny piece of what makes them who they are is limiting them greatly. Yes, it has a great deal to do with the marriage equality issues that are currently in the limelight, but that isn't all. In Missouri, it is completely legal to fire someone because of his or her sexual orientation--pure discrimination. Members of the armed forces are asked to trust one another with their lives, but they are made to live under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
How can I just watch my friends live in injustice?
@zamfir Fascism under Bush? What about Obama's support for the elimination of the card check rule to satisfy leftist labor unions? What about the stimulus bill which he and Pelosi literally rammed down the throat of Congress without giving anyone any time to read it? What about the financial freedom he aims to take from the middle and upper class? What about the fact that he owns a big car company?
I don't make the argument that Obama is fascist by any means, but I also think it ridiculous to call Bush a fascist. I think that a better understanding of fascism is in order. It is basically the elimination of freedom and destruction of democracy. It obviously depends on one's own personal political beliefs, but I think it uncouth to make such accusations when there are such arguments to direct at "your guy". President Bush stood for freedom - in the US and around the globe. Do you think it would have taken President Bush more than a week to come out in support of the Iranian dissidents? Absolutely not.
I also must add that unlike many leftists during the Bush Presidency, I can be critical of the President and yet still unequivocally say that I support my President through and through!
An injustice in the world that I believe the world (and the US in particular) has turned a blind eye to is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I returned from living in Jerusalem and traveling throughout Israel, Egypt and Jordan for four months feeling as if I had been living in the dark for years. There are murders (mostly of innocents), terrible injustices, and terrorism being practiced by both sides, but mainly Israelis. The situation is Gaza is horrific, and has been compared to circumstances in South Africa. Everyday, homes and lives are being destroyed by violence that the world refuses to see, or to act about. I am working hard to promote awareness of this situation, and to encourage people to educate themselves about it. It's amazing how destructive ignorance can be. It's hard to understand, living in a country with freedom and comfort, that there are people out there who are afraid and suffering, living in horrific circumstances. No human deserves to live in these circumstances, so I give my support, whether by donating money, time or resources, to raise awareness and help our fellow human beings, trapped in this terrible conflict.
@p4bosnia I think the US was horrible under Bush, and I think Obama is doing a terrific job. He's stopped the slide toward fascism, and it's good to see the US standing tall in the saddle wearing the white hat again. Bush, Cheney, Rove and the lot of them should be featured around the country in dunk tanks. At a dollar a throw, we'd have the US debt solved in a week.
@FreeThinker I'm going to send this to myself at home and read it when I have more time. You've struck a nerve.
@FreeThinker Eating locally raised cage-free/free-range meat is just as healthy an option for the planet as going vegan.
The Right of First Refusal on condo properties. FHA law does not allow this clause on properties and won't lend to them. Condo associations use this in their by laws as a way of keeping those "lowly" FHA tenants out of their vacancies. It's pretty damn discriminatory.
One injustice I am trying to fight is the way people have begun to treat one another. I always go the extra distance to ask a stranger how he or she is doing, start a conversation, or just say hello and make eye contact. There is good in the world, but sometimes, you have to be the one to uncover it.
I've been getting more involved with my church. I'm actually going to be teaching 6th graders there. I try to be a role model of work ethic, industriousness, respect, responsibility and caring. I think character education is lacking, particularly young male role models. That's what I'm working at.
DISCUSSION TOOLSET
child sex slavery.
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