I recently turned in a paper about Gay Rights to my English class that I'm using for a college essay. When I received the paper back I of course read the criticisms identified in red ink in the margins of my essay. My teacher had used a quote of Martin Luther King Jr. when encouraging me to strengthen a particular argument. The quote read, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." I took the paper home and that night reviewed the criticisms and then subsequently attempted to rewrite a stronger, more polished essay. That night the quote hit me hard.
I realized, this is who I want to be. This is what I want to aspire to. This is what I want to care about. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to just everywhere." Woah, did you feel that? Powerful. I don’t ever want to be done caring about the community around me (locally, nationally, and internationally) until all injustices have been abolished.
I believe that people have become apathetic to the world's problems. Too busy, too late, too tired... people are too absorbed in their day to day lives to realize what's happening on a larger scale to the community around them. Granted, not everyone can check CNN.com, read the New York Times and make sure to catch the nightly news everyday, but we should all attempt to be informed in some way. Whether it's keeping up with local politics or getting involved... I believe all political action; whether it be voting or volunteering... is necessary. Our government is made for us to control it, so why aren't we utilizing this power? "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." That's my self-declared life motto. We need to know about injustice and not suffice with the notion that it is unsolvable. As long as there is injustice, people need to keep acting, keeping educating, keep caring... For when we stop believing that Darfur, Uganda...etc. matters, is when the polity of the
U.S. dies and we dissolve in our own nation. So I suppose this is just encouragement for political action. Get educated and ACT, for “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Well said.
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