Justice: cultural or universal

While we ponder this justice question, some questions bubble to the surface: 
Where do our ideas of justice come from? 
Is it human to simply find excuses to rationalize our behavior by redefining justice?
I'm on my fourth biography of Nelson Mandela, and am reading Steve Biko and Desmond Tutu. It's a sobering experience to see what humans do to one another in the name of their perception of justice. Apartheid is a screaming example of skewed "social justice."

Here are some thoughts I wrote several years ago while we still lived in Quelimane. the complications of culture seethed through the weird gruesomeness of this story. Here, Marcia, is an example of African justice from 2009.

We can’t say that we’re having a drought here in eastern Zambezia, after all, we have had some rain. But it hasn’t been enough to keep the seedlings alive. When it comes, it spatters and leaves.

In the developed world there are many theories about such freakish weather, not the least of which might be global warming, that scapegoat catch-all. But Africa is different. When things go wrong in Nature, people start looking around for who is responsible.

Yesterday as the rain clouds threatened, and thunder rolled, I waited in the heat for the release of cloud buckets and the smell of wet earth. Instead, the weather toyed with our expectations, promised, and withdrew. Disappointment. At least I hadn’t gone out and transplanted seedling flowers like Jacky had.

You know, I was nearly tempted to complain to the Lord; He is in charge of the weather, after all. But I think I found out why it didn’t rain later in the afternoon. An outlying village, also hard hit by the dryness, went on a witch hunt and decided that a widow with an elderly mother was responsible for the drought. So they caught her and beat her “to a pulp” were the words used to me. Two timid police on a motorcycle came and reluctantly took her away for her own safety. The crowd turned on her mother. Their house was destroyed and belongings smashed.

I don’t know how either woman is doing. My heart goes out to them. How sad to live where you can pay the price for something all reason would tell you was out of your small control. Why did they pick on her, I wanted to know. Apparently, as a widow she is supposed to accommodate whatever man in leadership wants accommodating. But since she would not hand out sexual favors to the leaders, she was the scapegoat for the community.

I just talked with a well-educated Mozambican friend who has confirmed this story and added that there have been a variety of incidents like this: some scapegoats have not had police assistance and have died at the mob’s hands. Makes me wonder: what type of mind would think that a person who could control the weather would still be weak enough to be victim of a hostile rabble?

There are well-meaning non-government organizations who disparage mission work because it interferes with the local belief system and challenges the culture. “The people are perfectly happy in their own milieu,” they insist. Ask the scapegoats, I say.

Anyway, now I know why it didn’t rain yesterday. And today clouds promised and wimped out, too. And hot as I am, I’m glad.

---Karen


Abuses like that don't generally happen in the States. It's not because we are better people, more moral. We are equally depraved. But in our western culture, there is an ethical code of justice and equality.

So we Americans exercise our evil natures secretly. Many saintly Christian men abuse their families behind closed doors. School children are bullied under the cover of the herd, sometimes to the point of suicide. The anonymity of the Internet has revealed the depraved and vindictive nature of the public.

So, is there a difference in the rampant evil of the two cultures? Probably. We have a code of ethics, written and understood, that reins in an evil that runs unchecked in other cultures. We may not be better morally, but our identity is bound up in our standard, and the opinions of others regarding our behavior are important to most of us.

Will the western world continue to prevail in justice? Probably not. Human nature is not to act justly. Our view of the world is a snapshot of the brief time in which we live.

Oddly, I think that, the bolder depravity is expressed, the better the chance true Goodness can be seen in contrast. And God is a God of justice.

--Marcia

Just and Fair, or is it?

I feel uneasy assuming toddlers understand justice because they have a sense that if someone else has something that they want, they, too should have it. I tend to draw a broad line between "fairness" and "justice" because in western culture, the line is so thin it borders on invisible.


To me, "Justice" embraces equal rights and responsibilities, protection from corruption, and an underlying respect for one another. It is about not showing partiality (Dt 16:19) and treating foreigners and dispossessed with consideration (Dt 24:17). It isn't about everybody having the same amount or equal shares. That is the concept kids invoke in their time-honored, immature assessment of life having gone counter to themselves: "that's not fair." 


And it may well NOT be fair. But fair and just are not the same. How on earth did they get so tangled together that we end up watering down the mighty notion of Justice to  equal opportunity, equal pay, equal education? And because we've focused on items which we believe to require attention, we blind ourselves to where the true injustice is: in our hearts. We think by a token redistribution of stuff that we have implemented Justice. 


Our hearts are far from it. 


Justice is a very big deal to God. But He doesn't implement it by giving all His children the same things, gifts, abilities, or brains. Justice isn't about stuff. I have a sneaking suspicion it is about a state of mind. When the Queen of Sheba was overwhelmed by Solomon's opulent possessions--greater than had been reported, she surmised that God gave it to Solomon because He loved Israel and made Solomon king to maintain justice and righteousness.


Justice and righteousness are a package deal in the Scripture. They come together as attributes in a person or in commands for behavior. And they describe God and His Kingdom. 


Sadly, it seems like we just don't get it. Out in the obviously oppressive tyrannies of  underdeveloped countries, it is easy to finger one injustice after another. You find it at all levels. Seems like here in the US we are trying to fix the problem of miscarried justice by making everything fair. Promoting a sense of entitlement. Education is a right. A comfortable home and safe vehicle, rights. Medical treatment, a right. The vote, a right.


Maybe it makes people feel good to argue or fight passionately for these things to be equally available to all. But they are not fighting for justice. Because justice has to start in the heart, and it isn't in there unless we ask God to put it there.


God got sick and tired of the rituals of Israel (they did animal sacrifices, grain offerings, and sang lovely music). He just told them: "Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream." (Am 5:23-24)


Off there in the developing countries, they are heartsick for lack of justice. They are resigned. They are victims. They have so little hope. We Christians need to bring the word of justice to them. And share their lives and infuse the hope of justice. 


Instead, I see organizations sending money to rectify a heart problem and then shrugging when it doesn't provide a fix. Being a messenger of Hope takes time, not money.

--Karen

Time, yes, but, as you said, a heart change is crucial.

In the US, the history of African-Americans shows the hard heart of the masses.

At first, these Africans were treated like animals--taken, sold, used for uncompensated, hard labor.

Their emancipation began decades of their being treated not as peers, but as aliens. Most whites made no effort to integrate them into society.

Those who cared (there are always some) came up with the concept of affirmative action. African-Americans were given legal preference at times, in school and employment.

So, do we now live in a just society? Not as long as hearts are hard against others.

A black friend of mine, married to a white man, told me two stories. In the first, her young daughter was invited to a classmate's birthday party. This classmate whispered to her that she want my friend's daughter to arrive at the party with her daddy, not her mommy.
In the second, my friend made an enthusiastic acquaintance, who intimated to her that she had "always wanted a black friend." It makes me sad that some can't see my friend as a person.

The legislation of hearts is not possible. 

I would like to hear more of your experiences with both justice and injustice in Africa. I'm wondering, too, how do we compare? And what can we do?

--Marcia 

Injustice: tasting it or living with it

Marcia, yesterday I read your latest blog post on Strengthen the Things that Remain (marciathomas.blogspot.com). Then I noticed that I'd missed the one on "Justice" which you posted in June. It stirred some strong feelings in me. (If you're reading this, I recommend reading that post as well.)


I've lived in the parts of the world where Injustice runs things with an Iron Hand. You have lived in a pretty secure "bubble of justice" as you described it.  You were very observant about one thing: if you live in that bubble and confront injustice, you feel rage. If it is part of the warp and woof of your life, you become resigned.


I commend you for seeing the damaging effects of long-term injustice.  You said:
"Injustice can destroy your soul. Or bless you with empathy and hope."


Injustice is soul-destroying, searing, desperately painful. Its victims die or shrug; there seem to be no alternatives. You mentioned being blessed with empathy and hope. Key word there is empathy. 


Empathy is understanding and sharing the feelings of another. Sympathy is sorrow for their misfortunes. Empathy is going to get you off your seat and help you do something. Empathy is for people who are on the outside of the injustice looking in, but feeling it along with the victims. Even empathy can make you burn out sometimes.


The "good people" of the world have faced this awful thing, injustice, and have come up with an odd crusade for "social justice" which makes me wonder what about being social makes it any more just. Justice is something every Christian should pray for, crave, and insist upon wherever he or she is. Crying for justice from God is one of David's favorite things to do in the psalms.


I love this St Francis prayer (whether it's his or not, he should get the credit, he lived it):

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart. Amen.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace. Amen.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection,starvation and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy. Amen.

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done. Amen.

And the Blessing of God, who Creates, Redeems and Sanctifies, be upon you and all you love an pray for this day, and forever more. Amen.

I especially love, "bless you with enough foolishness to believe you can make a difference." That is probably our best defense and offense against injustice meted out to others. As for injustice we receive ourselves, the best advice I have heard is:

"Never look for justice, but never cease to give it."--Oswald Chambers


--Karen


The desire for justice is present in every toddler I've known. "He has one, and I want one, too." Self-centeredness is its close companion, so the reverse sentiment is rare. More likely, the feeling is, "I have one, and I'm going to hold onto it."

Maturity and empathy can move us toward the desire for justice for others. Ignorance, as you know, often results in throwing money at people who have none. This is what some call "social justice" and it ends with an attitude of entitlement.

Believers are tiptoeing through this quest for justice. If it were only so easy as treating one another with respect.

I would like to hear more about your concept of justice, social and otherwise, since you have spent so much of your adult life in the third world.

How much can we accomplish in this fallen world?


God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you  and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. --2 Thessalonians 1:6,7


--Marcia

Changing with technology

My first job when I left college was answering salesmen's calls and writing down the numbers they dictated to me. When I told my kids, they laughed, as if I told them I had been a scrivener. (Remember Bartleby by Herman Melville? People still read books, right?)

Technology seems to be changing lives more quickly now than when I was younger. When he was small, one of my children believed the world had been in black-and-white because the old TV shows taught him that (color was invented in the '60's, I think).

Like my first job, activities are rapidly becoming obsolete. I no longer wait for my credit card statements in the mail. I hardly ever write checks. I text my kids when dinner is ready instead of calling to them. I'm waiting for the app that does laundry. That would be amazing.

When my husband and I went plant-shopping, I got out my phone to take notes on the descriptions and care of shrubs. He got out his phone and took pictures of the descriptions. I guess he won.

Remember, Karen, when you were overseas and the only way I could contact you was to write on a thin, blue piece of paper? I'm guessing technology has changed your life at least as much as mine. What have you experienced?
--Marcia

Ah, yes, those thin, blue pieces of paper. Aerogrammes: and I could fit more words on one of those, all in the name of economy. At my feet is a bag with 2 manila envelopes bursting with those very items. My mom saved every letter I ever wrote her while I was in college and in Africa. Now I am teetering on the blade: keep them? toss them? what do I do with all those memories?  Fast forward: I'm a mom of college kids and technology has changed my world. I don't have a single letter from either of them. They text me. Or email. No piles of ancient mss for them to deal with in the future.


Back in the day, it took six weeks for me to get an answer from my folks. Three weeks each way. Now I find out if Isabel's work schedule has changed on the very day it happens. Over the years I have found out weeks/months after the fact that my uncle or cousin has died. On Monday I heard (via Facebook ) that my best South African friend lost her husband on Saturday night. 


That kind of change means that Africa isn't the same place I arrived in back in 1977, fresh out of college. Back then, Africans missed funerals, too, because they had no quick communication. Now with cell phones, they find out and make their sojourns. (No one in Africa misses a funeral if he can help it.)


Interestingly, Africa has leap-frogged quite a bit of technology. People who live in huts without water and electricity will never deal with landlines, they have cell phones. They will never struggle with antennas for tv reception, they watch DVDs. They have no need to read books, they go straight to video.


One hugely difficult decision in packing for Africa was: which books do I take? I'm a bookaholic. Now I have hundreds in my iPhone and iPod and don't wrestle with that at all. Believe it or not, when I went to Swaziland the first time, I hauled a reel to reel tape recorder so I could listen to music. To say nothing of those miles of tape. Smile.


And as for movies: you only saw them in theaters, once. Unless you were very extravagant. Now you can rent, buy, or download them. They are yours as long as you want to bother to watch them.


Most of these changes focus on entertainment and communication--making my life easier and more convenient. I think that has numbed me to what it does to my self: lulling me into thinking I ought to have convenience.


How can I exploit this technology to build the Kingdom of Heaven in Cape Town or wherever I end up? That will take more thought. I remember Dad telling about how he knew God made him an engineer, but could not imagine how God could possibly use an engineer in missions. He struggled with that. Before he died he built five Christian radio stations around the world. If I struggle, I might figure it out, too.

--Karen

20,000 miles

Well, Karen, I have referred to you as my Window to the Third World. You are an American who has spent the majority of your life overseas. But now you tell us that you have just driven more than 20,000 miles around this country. You have seen more of the States than I have. I would love for you to become my Window to the United States now.

From your unique perspective, what struck you about this country as you drove through it? Were your experiences similar throughout? Did you even feel as though you were in the same country everywhere you went?

--Marcia

Thanks for asking, Marcia, I love sharing about my country. In fact, one of the advantages to living overseas might be that I have a greater appreciation for what we have here. I have seen what other places without our heritage and government endure.


Some aspects of America are consistent from the east to the west, but there are distinct cultures within geographical areas. 


For example, Americans are consistently diverse. Everywhere you go, you see people who seem like they are from every where else. This is most obvious in post offices. The last one I went to had people from Indian, Asian, Caucasian and African backgrounds. But they were all Americans, all friendly, and worked amiably. This gives me great hope because individually, the people we encountered were all friendly.


Your status the other day mentioned a Vietnamese, Hispanic and a French manicure, another friend posted meeting people from Bolivia, Ecuador, Vietnam and Korea. Both were positive encounters. Something in this marvelous country allows people to interact without an excess of cultural suspicion. 


Of course, there are various degrees of assimilation within groups of people, but the point is that they are not antagonistic on an individual basis. Collectively, however, you have incidents of mob mentality (one ethnic group attacking another). But that happens everywhere, it is a weakness of being human.


Highways, roads, means of getting from here to there. Aahh. Yes. The US highways are amazing. Their condition is above adequate. Phil and I had to chuckle that Americans love to complain about their roads constantly being "under construction." We took our share of detours and slow-downs. But the other option is roads that are not maintained and disintegrating. We've been on those, and, no thanks.


Each state or geographical area has a sense of pride and beauty. What comes across to me is that we are a great example of synergy: America as a whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I wish everyone could get a sense of the value of all the parts.


Same goes for the Kingdom of heaven, I guess. Considering others above ourselves would go a long way to making a superpower something more: a care-power. America already shows that she cares around the world, in many ways. But self-serving, or feeling good, sometimes get in the way of what is best for those cared for. (I digress.)


Thanks for asking, the trip makes me grateful to carry this passport and enjoy the blessings of being an American.