Now is the perfect time to get serious about our self-proclaimed concern for justice.
We at Eastern have spent the past semester being saturated with the ideas that justice is godly, righteous and practical. We know that justice is a good thing.
But knowing and believing are two different things. Knowing is a purely intellectual activity. We can know a lot of things without acting on them.
Believing is acting on what we know. Intellect and action complement each other.
So, if we really believe that justice is a good thing, if we really ascribe to Eastern’s mission statement, our lives will change.
Unfortunately, this often does not happen. We leave Eastern for break and engage the world the same way we did before.
This is a dichotomy we need to overcome. If we’re serious about supporting justice, we need to be living it.
Justice is not just a large scale problem like the prevention of genocide or famine. We can’t claim that we don’t do anything because the problems are too big to deal with.
Justice can also occur on a small scale.
Little actions by average students can have far-reaching impacts that truly embody what justice is about.
Let us offer one example that fits right in with the Christmas season.
Many products we buy everyday are made overseas, in factories where employees are badly underpaid, where children are often expected to work long hours and physical, verbal and sexual abuse is common.
When we buy these products, we perpetuate the injustice. If consumers are buying the products, the companies won’t stop the injustice that creates their profits.
Unfortunately, these items don’t come with tags proclaiming their unjust origins. A little research and a little extra planning will be necessary.
Here are some websites to get you started.
Use the websites. Think about what you buy. If we really want to claim we believe in justice, this is one way to make sure our knowledge and actions combine.
www.knowmore.org
www.tenthousandvillages.com
www.globalcrafts.org
www.worldofgood.com
www.eartheasy.com/give_sustainchristmas.htm
Inquiring Minds is the collective opinion of the editorial staff and not necessarily representative of the entire staff. It is written by the managing editor and the editor-in-chief.