March/April 2009 Editor's Viewpoint
Demystifying Social Justice

by Vicky Thompson

Social justice is expressed as a deep desire to motivate others to rally for change within the self and society. "Social" represents community enacted through collective group action and "justice" represents fairness enacted through honesty and integrity. As a tool of compassion, social justice means common fairness extended to groups of people as well as the individual self.

The term social justice has many meanings that make it seem beyond the reach of everyday people. The definitions and actions associated with social justice have created myths, making the practice of social justice seem the elevated work of miracle makers. A spiritual meaning of social justice is needed to bridge this compassionate practice from an issue of the poor to become a common standard of respect for all people.

The following three myths present an old view of social justice while the corresponding spiritual facts equate social justice with a new personal code of compassion.

Myth 1: Social justice applies only to political issues of laws and policies.

Spiritual fact: Social justice is an everyday part of life, and is not reserved to the work of activists fighting for equal rights. The work of lawmakers seems so removed from the lives of ordinary people who may vote and then not directly see how the enacted laws affect them. Often special interest groups become the experts on political social justice, and ordinary people pay them through contributions to seek justice. Social justice becomes a job for someone else to do, leaving ordinary people without direct roles and responsibilities in enacting equality among all people.

To bridge the gap from treating social justice as a special interest group responsibility only, individuals can follow a personal code of treating others with respect. When you vote, when you buy products, when you make decisions that affect others, you can use your compass of social justice to ensure that your choices are for the common good.

Myth 2: Social justice applies only to minorities or at-risk populations of people.

Spiritual fact: Social justice applies to all humans because compassion encourages us to find commonality with all people from all walks of life in all situations. Social justice may be equated with the poor and the disadvantaged because they are often without a voice against daily exploitations. But the concepts of dignity and fairness are universal to all people. When you encounter a rude person, if you act with malice and return the unpleasantness, you may receive more negativity from the person. But if you can maintain your code of treating others as you wish to be treated, you can react with compassion and even humor.

Myth 3: Social justice requires you to do volunteer work or some other tangible action to better society's ills.

Spiritual fact: Embodying fairness and integrity ensures that your actions as an individual will influence society as a whole. Demonstrating social justice through personal choices is a powerful way to change the world just by being who you are. Service to others is a noble task that we all should strive toward, but social justice does not happen only when you are volunteering. Every moment is an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others, from a simple smile at an older person at the grocery store to helping serve meals at a soup kitchen.

When you live from the center point of embodying compassion and respect for others, you can profoundly affect people at any moment.

Heart of the Issue
Treat others as if you were meeting God for the first time.