social justice.

[most of this is derived from a lecture by Prof. Rob Kugler at Lewis & Clark College] social justice, as hard as it is to define, is equally hard to define in its motives. many social justice advocates or participants come from a religious background, typically christian. within that, there tends to be three different work ethics. the first is the far right who believe their salvation is gained by the works they perform. this is a very stereotypical catholic edict. there are those in the middle who believe that out of their faith, and grace found in salvation comes a desire to do good in the world. then there are those on the left who believe salvation is its own entity and works, government, and the like should remain a separate force working for the good of humanity as a whole, without selfish intentions driving the desire to do good deeds. while these distinctions are somewhat stereotyped and broad, they are generally true. many may say, so be it; let people believe what they want to believe, but problems lie in the conflicts and competition these differing beliefs cause. with such fundamental differences in doctrines, these groups are often unwilling to work together. they may also have differing needs in resources, which when pooled together could incite much more change than working separately. for instance, say one group has an overabundance of volunteers but lacks in funding and local connections like in the instance of a natural disaster. it's possible that another group has plenty of money but no volunteers. the third may have connections in the area but is lacking money and man power. if the three groups were to work together in one united front, they could meet the three basic requirements to make a change and really help where and when help is needed.
i myself tend to fall somewhere between the left and middle groups. i believe that i have been given much grace in my own life and it is only right that i try my best to bestow that on the people around me. on the other hand, i also believe that religion and grace is not a necessary aspect in trying to invoke positive social change. i often question where my desire for social justice comes from. i was not raised in any particular religion, it was something i kind of fell into backwards when i was in high school. my home church isn't particularly strong in the social justice realm, outside of monetary support for missionaries and various resources for church members. my mother is somewhat of a social advocate, working for food banks around the holidays, serving at bread + broth, collecting donations for the women's center, and always acting as a sympathetic force to those individuals she comes into contact with. i can't say that this was a particularly strong force in my life growing up, though. i guess my desire mainly stems from my frustrations with my own life and the guilt i face feeling like everything i have was just handed to me, and then seeing the extreme need, disparity, and struggle occurring all over the world from right in my hometown to my time spent working in the inner city in new york to the starving orphans in africa you see on tv. whatever my reasoning is or whatever others' motives are, i can't see why people aren't dedicated to social justice and why we all can't put our motives and personal beliefs aside to try and create a world in which everyone has enough of what they need.