Better Than This

This postcard from PostSecret made me reflect upon many of the organizations I have worked in or worked closely with, and sadly it can be so true.

Let’s develop a working definition of social justice before moving forward. The best I can do is to describe what a socially just society (or organization) looks like. It is one based on the principles of equality and solidarity. It understands and values human rights, and recognizes and protects the dignity of every human being.

Having become involved in many organizations that work toward social justice in recent years I’ve seen how messed up they can be. Or else perhaps I like to think that some organizations are more committed to social justice than they actually are, so I pass a harsher judgement? I’m not certain any more.

Anyway, after I shared the postcard on my Facebook page someone asked me to explain, so I will attempt to do that. One way to work toward social justice is to build power. Power, as defined by Social Justice Fund NW, is the capacity of a group of people to decide what they want and to act in an organized way to get it. Once that power is built it can be used to create systemic change, which can (and arguably should) include changing the unjust power relations that currently exist.

So, yucky organizations that claim to be “social justice” organizations but don’t practice what they preach. An example of one such organization, which will not be named, does not make decisions based on equality and does not protect the dignity of its employees. The leadership in said organization works to prevent employees from building power, which in turn prevents unjust power relations from being changed. When these things are happening internally it is difficult to believe that the organization is truly committed to creating change externally.

Social justice is a heavy subject, and certainly no organization or individual can flawlessly execute “social justice.” However, it does, as the postcard says, pain me to see how epically some organizations fail at having socially just internal policies.

You Shall Not be Forgotten

Today is a day we are called to remember those who have sacrificed for our country. What’s the saying? “All gave some; some gave all.” On this day I am grateful beyond words for the sacrifices of all of those who have served in our armed forces. However, the way we treat these heroes in this country, a country that has long claimed to be the greatest country on Earth, saddens me nearly every day. 

According to this about one-third of the adult homeless population are veterans. Another 1.5 million other veterans are considered at risk of homelessness. Regardless of my personal feelings about the conflicts in which our nation is currently engaged, the men and women of the armed forces deserve better treatment than this. In addition to homelessness, many veterans suffer from PTSD, lack of family and social support networks, substance abuse, etc., and, from my experience with vets, many (if not most) are unable to access services they need.

I’m not sure how to solve the complex problem of veterans’ issues, but I do know we can do better than we are doing now. On this day I only write to share my heartbreak over how the heroes in our society are treated and to express my desire to see change there. We must do better by those who sacrifice so much so that we may enjoy the freedoms we do.

It's racism and classism, stupid!

I have recently had conversations with people in my life about what money and class mean to them, and what an individual’s relationship to and perception of money and class means for an individual’s spending habits, philanthropic giving, etc.. To say the responses have been varied would be a understatement. These conversations have me thinking about a very complex topic: economics. 

Disclaimer: Although I did achieve an “A” in both micro- and macroeconomics, I am fully aware that I have a limited understanding of the things I will discuss next and am no way an expert on the topic. Bear with me.

Back to economics. We all know that unemployment is “high” in comparison to, say, 15 years ago. I hope we all know that unemployment is always higher for minority groups. If you didn’t know that check this link. It turns out society and mainstream media don't really give a shit until the unemployment affects the “average white male.” Anyway, I digress. 

Econ. Lately we’ve been fed this fallacy that the rich are job creators, and if we tax them they will stop creating jobs. As it turns out our economic system is designed so that the only thing to create jobs is demand, and the rich don’t consume 60% more just because their incomes are 60% higher. Don't believe that? Ask Stephen King. If I were a business owner (rich or not) I wouldn’t hire because my taxes were cut; I would hire when demand reached a point that made an additional employee necessary to maintain a level of customer satisfaction that would ensure continued consumption of my good or service. The way to increase demand is to empower the middle class to consume, but consumption requires money. When wages are stagnant and inflation is anything but the middle class consumes at a slower rate. All of that to make a few points: 1) The rich are not job creators just because they have more money or pay a lower tax rate and 2) We as a society teach and are taught that we will be happy when we consume. This desire to consume (and be “happy”) is what keeps our economic system alive, creates jobs, creates an upper class and middle class, and so much more. 

We as humans are happy when we consume. The more that we consume the more jobs there are for the ‘middle class.’ When there are more jobs for the ‘middle class’ said class has more money. When the ‘middle class' has more money it desires to consume more.

Does consumption really make us happy? If not, how do we go about creating sustainable jobs? Hoarding money isn’t the answer, but buying a bunch of shit has never made me truly happy either. Philanthropic giving can only create so many jobs. We must be more than mice in a wheel, right?