Justice

Big surprise, but I am involved in a Bible Study with a group of people from church. They are an amazing group. Many of them are older than I and only a couple are younger. What I find is that some of the broadest thinkers are the ones who are older. They destroy my stereotypes! (Darn it!)

Last week we centred our study on Justice as it is represented in the Bible and as it plays a role within the United Church of Canada. I had not realized that the United Church of Canada was actually formed out of this sense that churches must do more than be hearers of the Word, but doers of the Word. I had some vague assumption that it was formed as was the United Church of Christ, in the states - more as a means of joining together of like-minded; but also for convenience. That may be unfair to say that "convenience" had anything to do with it; but growing up in the church felt like convenience was a big part.

In Canada, the like-mindedness focussed on the Justice aspect of our faith. I feel proud to part of that. However, what do we do? Are our actions enough? Are they effective? Where do we focus?

I found last week overwhelming once I started filtering my world through the lens of Justice. There is so much in the world that is unjust. What can I do about it? Where do I begin. Is it adequate to act locally and do what I can within my realm, or do I need to be involved in global justice issues? What if my "solutions" are not the best? When I act locally, I am able to ensure that I stay open-ended - that I don't impose my solution or "fix" on a situation. An example of this would be my planned project for literacy and youth. I am committed to the idea that each participant come with their own goal and that I do not try to impose my value upon their goals. If an individual wants assistance in clarifying his/her goal(s), I am happy to support a process that will do so. However, it still is not my place to impose my learning goals upon them.

In our study session this morning, we looked briefly at the situation in Darfur. One person related how we, as a nation, are capable of providing a solution to what is occurring by offering to take in all those who are suffering and bring them to Canada. My first reaction was to question whether this was the right solution. What makes us think that anyone would want to leave their own land to come to ours? At the same time, the situation is so critical that people might go for anything that got them out of there. The discussion continued by acknowledgeing that we don't possess the collective will to bring everyone here at the great expense and that there would be a huge outcry at the costs while we would likely be able to finance it by simply leaving the GST at the present level or return it to the level it was a year ago.

I admire the thinking of this person to consider that the nation is capable of providing a solution. However, I think we are being over simplistic to think that this might be a desirable or best solution. Are we not simply providing a band aid solution? What are we going to do to provide education so that people can make a living here? What will we do to guarantee that housing is available? How will we assist that many people to become acclimated to our climate and society? I think it sounded so similar to what our government has done with Inuit and other aboriginal peoples in the past that has resulted in huge crises.

On the other hand, am I simply coming up with reasons for avoiding such a change to our social fabric? Bringing in a million individuals from any one culture would drastically change what is presently here. Am I trying to protect that against the concept of being just?

If expend energy on my local project, I have more immediate potential of redirecting strategies when they prove to be less than successful. I can do on-going assessment to ensure that the participants are learning needed skills. I can provide long-term support for the individuals who desire or need it.

I am confident that the individual in our group who suggested the solution presented has the very best of intentions. I don't for a moment believe that there is any other reason than to provide a potential solution to a heart-breaking world problem. I just wonder how we can ensure that we could redirect or modify the plan to promote success in an on-going nature once we moved close to a million people half-way around the world to a completely different society and climate. Or am I making excuses again?

So who am I to wonder?