I just started to read a book entitled Good News About Injustice by Gary A. Haugen. I am only finished with the first chapter thus far, and it looks like a very promising and provocative read. After wrapping up the first thirty pages then, my mind wanders to the question of why it is often times so easy, too easy, to ignore serious problems around me (us?), especially when it come to injustice locally (people living in terrible conditions, homelessness, abuse of political power, etc..) or even global injustices such as genocide, child prostitution, famine, or human trafficking? Maybe part of it is mass media and how quickly information comes and goes, and I can understand that. And maybe at times the issues seem to large to even focus on. But what is the rest of the reason? Is there more to it than that?
This lifestyle of ignoring injustice and being intentionally uninformed has been too common in my life, and I see it as something to learn to grow out of. But it is not just me because I also experienced it in school. For instance, during my senior year of High School in 1994, there was a 6 week genoicide in Rwanda that left 500,000 men, women, and children murdered. In all my High School courses, and even in the following five years I spent in college, I do not remember one in-depth discussion (or even an extended mention) over this recent genocide. So I could travel through courses in history, english, philosophy, sciense, and theology (and bowling for PE), but study nothing of this catastrophy. Maybe I wasn't paying attention. Or maybe we don't touch on issues like this often times. Why though?
What do you think?
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3 comments:
Hi everyone, I guess I'm the first to comment on this here new blog, thanks Ryan for inviting me to chime in.
You raise a great point, Ryan. I'm bothered that even at this very moment, most of the world is ignorant about ongoing genocide in Sudan, the Congo, and other places where it just doesn't matter to the average global citizen. I can understand that the media doesn't cover it, but even locally we tend to ignore or distance ourselves from increasing poverty, homelessness, and other major issues even within our own country and for some even our own city.
My sense about big social justice issues, no matter how serious or awful they are, is that people tend to not care about any specific issue unless it affects them individually or on a personal level. Myself included. I get fired up when I read about major injustices in the world like Rwanda or Sudan, but I'm much less likely to become "active" about the issue if it doesn't involve me personally. I wish it weren't the case, but it's true. My sense is that most of those who are actively engaged in trying to stop injustice in a certain context are either intimately involved with it on a regular basis, maybe because of a job they have or as a result of a major life-changing experience, such as a short or longer-term mission trip or something -- they become convinced and maybe even see it as their calling to do something.
So what would it take for me to get fired up enough to do something that does NOT affect me personally but DOES affect countless others? How can I get engaged in an effort that is effective beyond just putting a "band-aid" on the deeper wounds?
Eric-
Good thoughts. I am very much bothered at the moment that I have really taken so little time to truly learn about present stuff going on, not to mention, act. I think that is easy to be absorbed in the mundane things of life (important stuff too). The life though that serves others will require much sweat, sacrfice, and inconvenience. As author Richard Luptin put recently in a book called "Theirs is the Kingdom," (parapharased by the way), "it will never be convenient to love."
I am intent to see heart change as we begin to dialogue. I know that in the immediate time, I'd like to check out www.invisiblechilrden.com as I hear about some hairy issues going on.
This all reminds me of 9-11 too. We don't care about terrorism until it happens to us. There is something understandable about that, but there is really something akward too.
WWBD?
(what would Bono do?)
You know, it takes such effort and time on the local level to in order to care for the homeless and stand up for those with no voice. Between family and whatever, there is some serious sacrifice.
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