I reflected about it and related a lot to the commitment to social justice that has been instilled in me at Cabrini and that I am looking to strengthen in the year to come, in light of a lot of what they were saying to us at orientation.
We cannot do everything/knowing this allows us to do something and do it well.
One thing I've always struggled with since being introduced to social justice issues at Cabrini is the temptation to take up and care about every cause. What I quickly discovered is that you just can't do that. It's exhausting and takes a huge toll if you let every injustice constantly weigh on you. You can't feel guilty for every decision and if you let social justice consume you there is a real danger of not living at all; being wrapped up in guilt and powerlessness. There is nothing wrong with being privileged and making the most of those advantages. We have to draw a line somewhere and accept we cannot make all change alone. But we can be a part of it.
We are the workers, not master builders. We are ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own.
Are unaware people lesser? No. Are my parents bad people because they utilize their economic privilege that they work hard to maintain? Of course not. We cannot be perennially guilty. I felt at times in orientation that I was being guilted for all my choices, for enjoying my comforts. But that's not it, really. I was projecting my own guilt.
JVC is challenging me, particularly for this oncoming year, to question everything and to make my own decisions. I should consider the effects all my choices have on other people. Privilege is not inherently oppressive (though Marx would disagree with me) it is how we utilize our faculties that really matters. Ultimately, as the prayer says, we are merely workers. My efforts this year alone do nothing in isolation. I won't change the social structure by helping one kid or even fifty kids get into college.
But maybe my actions will help others learn from their hardship and story. Maybe I can be a voice for just a few of the voiceless. If I spread their stories maybe those people will spread it and perhaps others will wait to take up and pursue the JVC mission. Who knows?
But I don't believe helping only one person is a useless effort. Helping one person changes the world. I don't know if someone famous is credited with saying that, but it's what I believe. I recall the story of the boy and the starfish that my friend Cathy introduced me to.
One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed
a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.
a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.
Approaching the boy, he asked, "What are you doing?"
The youth replied, "Throwing starfish back into the ocean.
The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them back, they'll die."
The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them back, they'll die."
"Son," the man said, "don't you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish?
You can't make a difference!"
You can't make a difference!"
After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish,
and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said,
"I made a difference for that one."
and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said,
"I made a difference for that one."
Maybe I've always been more interested with service on the micro level than the macro level. But that doesn't change my devotion and hope for a better world. We are prophets of a future not our own. I cannot change the world on my own, but I will recognize where I can make a difference. My choices do matter. I don't have to buy Nike shoes and support sweatshops. I can purchase Fair Trade and benefit small farmers. I can buy locally and support local businesses. But would I be a horrible person if I didn't? I don't think so. Would I be guilty of ignorance? Maybe. But that doesn't equate to being unjust.
It's a difficult balance, finding the just thing to do in a world where so much is unfair. It's something I struggle with and will continue to struggle with, particularly as I try to live simply this year when I have to make hard choices between what is affordable and what is more "right." I'm already learning that the world is unfairly balanced against the poor. That the unhealthy, the mass-manufactured, is the only thing available to so many people simply by virtue of their economic status. 50 cents is an enormous difference in this world for many people.
My hope with this blog is that I can be the step along the way through my words...that I can be just one of many workers that will help make this world better. But if all I am able to accomplish is helping one boy at my high school...well, that's OK too.
