Three Ways to Find Justice in the Midst of Massacre
by Emilia Sophia
What can I do? — a question that stirs the minds of many in our seemingly crumbling world. What can I do about the France bombings? Beirut? What about the Civil War in Syria? Or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Many have not yet discovered a definite possibility. Others, however, have adopted a what-should-I-care posture — both in response to apathy OR hopelessness. And just three weeks after these blows, the Western world witnessed the live coverage of the San Bernardino shooting at the Inland Regional Centre — 14 deaths in total.
So, truly, how can we find justice in the midst of massacre?
What can we do inside our homes? In front of our screens? If we live in the Canadian comfort of full fridges and Netflix binges, what can we do? Is sharing a post more than enough of the activism we should or could engage in? Or do we have an alternative? Is there a way anyone can actually engage in lasting transformative change? Yes. Is social justice fading beside the gales of violence? No. Activism at its core seeks to produce lasting social change. And through the eyes of some experts and advocates, we will explore three ways in which we can find social justice through the art of looking away.
When I asked Steven McCready, former National President for the Youth for Christ movement in Northern Ireland, how to combine our passions with social justice, he suggested the three ways — three Ls — where who I am meets the what I can do. McCready is an Irish ex-rugby player for Ulster, strengths-based leadership coach, father, friend, husband, pastor and certified fitness instructor, among many other hats of life.
So, let us learn about the three ways to kickstart the social justice establishment in our groaning world.
LISTEN: Let Your Heart Be Broken
Can you hear the cries of humanity? No? Be still. If we get still enough, once we get over ourselves, we will hear the cries of the world.
Hunger, lack of sanitized water, law enforcement deficiencies, corruption, solitude and lies bellow over the voice of the world’s most vulnerable. So what can we do? Listen. Good listeners recognize that those who plea for help are humans. Humans have intrinsic value and worth. While an inward view into our lives says, “I will not interact with those of different religion, class and/or political views,” an outward view listens without judgement — the dividing poison of community. Social justice is not about imposing our personal or communal beliefs into the minds and hearts of those in need. Social justice is about letting the needs of others shake us intimately, finding the best way to cover the cracks.
When asked about the motivators that drive an activist to action, Pamela Villa, nursing student at George Brown College and former missionary student at Iris Global, commented the following, “If one is not open to feeling another’s hurts, and to listen to the issues at hand, allowing one’s heart to be broken along with others, then social justice movements cannot be successful.”
What are the immediate needs of our community? Needs are everywhere. Must we suffice every need? No, but when we acknowledge the needs of our neighbour as much as we acknowledge ours, the hunger to do something will move us from inaction to action. From inaction to action, the hopelessness that disheartened some will transform into empowerment. Empowerment, then, will lead to successful social justice movements, the kind that do not fizzle. If I know the great value I possess and recognize this value in others, I turn love into action.
LOOK: Find the Place to Suffice the Need
Beirut? 9,369 km away. France? 6,837 km away. San Bernardino, CA? 1,607 miles away. Your neighbourhood? A few steps outside your front door. Once we have identified a need that shakes our ground, we must identify opportunities that will lead us to suffice this need one way or another. Establish your WHY. Why do you want to suffice this need? With a clear why on your mind, you can find community clubs, school societies and NGOs where like-minded individuals mobilize themselves for this cause.
Social justice is about fairness. But fairness cannot come until we recognize that every need is different and cannot be met with a pre-packaged formula. A natural disaster, for example, does require immediate fixed relief such as food, safe drinking water, medications, etc. Other needs such as education require greater knowledge, resources and structure, which means we must tackle needs one by one with conscientiousness.
“A good first step is to look to be a peacemaker and justice creator in our neighbourhoods and towns and cities perhaps before we look to engage globally,” said Steven McCready in response to the outlets for social justice engagement.
In the season where we are in our lives, knowing our strengths and gifts, the best place to suffice needs is in our community. Our small step in our community will lead towards creating networks of greatly engaged leaders ready to stir active human mobilization for bigger causes.
LEAD: Your Gifts Bring Change
We have listened and we have looked, but now we must learn. Ignorance hinders many individuals from achieving their full potential as activists. With social media, specially, we have discovered the “like” button is the quickest way to engage without deepening our understanding on the causes and effects of social injustices. Social justice does not proclaim, “I can solve the world’s problems on my own.” Advocates recognize we will only suffice the world’s needs as an integrated whole with an educated heart and mind.
During the justice conversations, Brianna Locke, who works as a coach for the Youth Engagement division at World Vision Canada, offered a new perspective on leading, “I know that young Canadians have yet to uncover their own power, and two simple questions, “What is your gift? What is your issue?” can spark a revolution of personalized and powerful change.”
Thus, her formula: Gift + Issue = CHANGE
Challenge yourself to write a list of all the gifts you possess, any talent, ability or skill. In doing so, meditate on how these gifts — whether music, problem solving or baking — could serve others.
Where are the needs? What are your gifts? What issue(s) make(s) you mad? Once you have answered these questions, you will be able to lead with awareness — not in blissful ignorance, not because helping others makes you feel good, but because you own your responsibility as a global citizen. Global citizenship is our heritage, and the will to enable life in all its fullness our responsibility. Take hold of your citizenship. Together, we are better.
In these present days where abundant information, lack, violence and discouragement roar over the dawn of hope, our attention drifts and our strength seems minute. But today, more than ever before, it is pertinent and vital that we embrace our global citizenship. Ladies and gentleman, in the art of looking away, we must remove our fixed gaze from ourselves — needs, wants, lacks — and into the frequency of brokenness that claws the inherent greatness of humanity.
