The Path of Love

Being in Washington, DC this past weekend for the Ignatian Family Teach-In game me a lot to reflect on. What is social justice? What are human rights? Why is it that the United States, the supposed "greatest, most powerful nation in the world," seems to constantly work against social justice and the guarantee of human right to all people?I struggle with this question every day at work, in my reading, and in my thoughts. The Teach-In was a mix of emotions and the broadness of topics discussed seemed, too me, to take away from the general theme of "Remembering our Salvadoran Martyrs." The Salvadoran Jesuit martyrs, along with Archbishop Oscar Romero died fighting for social justice. They were murdered for striving to help their fellow Salvadorans understand the national reality. At first glance, I always think what is the point of working for justice, equality, and human rights when so many others strongly oppose those things which may take away from their own power and wealth or may create a change in the status quo. At first glance, I see the murders of our Salvadoran martyrs and people like Martin Luther King Jr. as a sign that wrong will always prevail; that greed always wins; that justice will never be gained, no matter how hard it is fought for.

Central America is made up of developing nations, as are Africa, the Middle East, and the South Pacific. It is a hotbed of oppression and of human rights abuses. Countries like Nicaragua and El Salvador struggled through civil wars throughout the 1980s, wars that resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent poor civilians. During this time, Americans were scared of communism but also feared another military conflict like the war in Vietnam. While the Salvadoran government was committing human rights atrocities through massacres, disappearances, and tortures, the USA was funding their military. How can so many people be blinded by the fact that funding the military meant funding the death squads and funding sever violations of human rights. The United States was so fearful of communism that they did not stop to consider that revolution is not the same as communism or that sending military aid to a country in ruin will actually fight communism. Evil prevails. Fear wins. Greed and power come out on top. Rather than striving to create a just and peaceful world, the United States sent the message that the abuse of human rights is ok and oppression is ok, so long as communism does not take over, so long as the people's voices are not heard.

Developing nations are much different than developed nations like the US, England, China, Japan, Italy, Spain, etc. The problems and issues present in developing countries, it would seem, do not exist in the great powerful countries of the world because these countries are established, civilized, and work each day to prove that democracy truly means the people have a say in how the country is run. After really thinking about this, though, it is so easy to see that this is a load of garbage; it isn't true at all. Problems of developing nations are problems everywhere - poverty, socioeconomic discrimination and exploitation, human rights violations. They can be seen every day in the United States no matter which state or region of the country you are in. We are one of the wealthiest countries in the world, yet many of our people live in poverty, and often time, there is no way out of that poverty. THose who are born into a family living in poverty will continue to live in poverty because they will be subjected to poor education and schools that have no money for resources. Without education, they will not get well-paying jobs. Race plays a role, too. Blacks are more likely to live in poverty, to be incarcerated, to become infected with HIV. Racial discrimination is a structure in our society, as are poverty and homelessness. They will never go away because they are ingrained in the history of this country. The poor will continue to be poor unless our society is turned upside down and serious changes are made. Because in the US - greed and power win and evil prevails.

Farm workers, the ones who work tirelessly to put food on our tables often times do not have the food to feed themselves or their families. They typically live in shacks, lucky if they have running water. They are treated so badly, yet they are the ones who provide for us all. And what about immigrants? Our country is a country of immigrants. It would not exist if people never moved here from all over the world. Yet, our country works against immigration; it treats immigrants like they are scum and do not deserve a chance to change their lives. We give them no rights and do not give them a chance to work towards citizenship. It is as though this country's history means nothing; like the US's foundation is meaningless. People forget that "All men were created equal" and that our founding fathers guaranteed the unalienable rights of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Those rights, instead, are completely alienable because society encourages selfishness, greed, and the desire of power. This leads to poverty and violations of human rights because people have a tendency to do whatever will get them ahead, rather than what is best for the common good. It is as though justice will never be a reality.

While in DC, walking around the monuments, reading quotes from presidents past, I was slowly reminded of those who have fought for social justice throughout time. Abraham Lincoln fought so that the slaves could be freed. FDR fought to bring an end to poverty. MLK Jr. fought for racial equality. Oscar Romero, Ignacio Ellacuria, and the other Jesuit martyrs in El Salvador fought for social justice through educating other and fighting for and with the poor. With the murders of all but FDR, it is very easy to believe that evil will always win, that social justice is an impossible goal. But it also brings about hope and faith in a better tomorrow. None of these men gave up, regardless of the consequences. They walked the path that Jesus walked. They fought for their beliefs and fought with their lives reminding themselves that God will not let evil win but wants us to find the way to peace and justice. Humankind created the mess that is this world; humankind has to find the way out of it. Social justice and peace can be attained. Evil will not always prevail. The lives of the martyrs have shown us that.

"In these days of difficulty, we Americans everywhere must and shall choose the path of social justice, the path of faith, the path of hope, and that path of love toward our fellow man." - FDR

How else are we going to pull this world out of the mess that we have created?