August 30, 2007 at 8:58 pm · Filed under General, Personal reflection, Social Justice
Early on this summer I had the opportunity to speak with Jaime Kalven, a journalist and activist who I admire very much. He challenged us to live a life of “active confusion” and I took this charge very seriously. I am wary of people who find a conspiracy behind everything, but I do believe that the only way to live a loving life is to live intentionally. This summer has reminded me that what has been and will continue to be the driving force in my life is my basic commitment to loving all people. This is a truly difficult decision to live out daily largely because in the course of our lives many of the people we impact will be strangers to us. In many ways, the justice system brings these connections to light and clearly establishes that we are social beings and we are responsible to one another. I hope to live in “active confusion” always knowing what is right and good and Godly, but being acutely aware of my own lack of understanding and compassion.
August 14, 2007 at 12:44 am · Filed under General, Personal reflection, Social Justice
Whirling around in the back of my mind pretty much 24/7 right now are questions about life after graduation. For the past several years I have been convinced that law school was my next step. I am an advocate at heart and law seemed like the right place to live that out. Recently, I’ve been thinking more about this decision.
In my experience, people in the legal world tend to assume the centrality of the justice system and of the government in general to the existence of a respectable, modern society. You don’t have to think it’s a perfect system, but you have to believe in the fundamental value of the principles of law and their importance to society.
On one hand, I believe that this attitude is entirely well-founded–the Bill of Rights is as amazing to me now as it was when I was a kid first learning about it. On the other hand, why did we have to legislate those principles in the first place? I see the system as a necessity–as a symptom of the fact that the principles protected by law aren’t held by individuals themselves. I believe that making the system as just and as consistent as possible is a necessary part of advocating for vulnerable individuals and population.
However, I do not see even a perfect justice system as the solution to life’s injustices. What I am questioning now, is what place is there for me in an environment where the system, once perfected, is seen as the ideal, rather than as one solution to a problem that can and should be addressed in many ways.
August 13, 2007 at 4:53 pm · Filed under General
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