Lack of Justice

In all societies, love and justice is present, or there is a lacking that creates an injustice. There are always numerous view points of what love and justice is. Amidst all the view points, justice is not prevalent everywhere as much as it should be present; there is a great sense of injustice felt. Injustice has been felt all throughout history. A philosopher, Cornel West, believed that: “justice is love made public.” This quote can explain what is seen in society today. Authors Martin Luther King Jr. in “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Vine Deloria, Jr. in “Sacred Places and Moral Responsibility,” and Gandhi in “Selected Readings” write about justice. It appears as though all injustice leads to people standing up for themselves and taking direct action.

For one to take action for injustices, there are often times consequences that follow. This is shown my Martin Luther King Jr. in “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” He wrote of justice and the lack of justice within society. King said “justice too long delayed is justice denied” (King, 172). He also believed that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (King, 170). Having such powerful ideas, King could no long sit back and watch his people be oppressed and discriminated against. Action was in dire need and from such need came four steps to non-violent campaigning. The first step is to collect facts to determine whether injustices were alive. The second step is negotiation. The third step is self-purification, in which meetings and workshops were held. The fourth step is direct action, in which they dramatized the issue so it could not be ignored any longer. “We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed” (King, 171). Seemingly enough, “it is even more unfortunate that the white power structure of this city left the Negro community with no other alternative” (King, 170). The immense injustice felt by those with black skin, stood up for themselves in hopes of gaining some kind of justice. Through the direct action, the tension the black community was feeling was brought to the streets in a non-violent campaign. Many of those involved did have to pay a consequence, jail time, and the whites that used force against the blacks were let off the hook for the injustices they dealt to those campaigning.

The injustice found amongst the ethnic minorities is innumerable. Not only have black people felt it but so have the Native Americans, true first generation Americans. Tension has been present ever since Christopher Columbus landed in 1492 and began to exploit the land. There have been laws and acts passed claiming to preserve and protect religious freedom but it often does just the opposite: oppresses and discriminates. The American Indians Religious Freedom Act did just that, serving the Native Americans a plate of injustice. There is a great lack of understanding between Indians and non-Indians causing the “great gulf”, as Deloria Jr. would call it. It is within this “great gulf” that non-Indians do not understand the Indians’ sacredness of the land and the ceremonies and rituals they perform. The sacred places “are locations where people have always gone to communicate and commune with higher spiritual powers” (Deloria Jr., 185). Almost always these sacred places have revelations found within their existence, but these places are also a foundation. “Sacred places are the foundation of all other beliefs and practices because they represent the presence of the sacred in our land” (Deloria Jr., 185). Yet too frequently their lands and shrines are exploited and injustice occurs between Indians and non-Indians.

The injustice is also present among Native America ceremonies and rituals; another aspect of the “great gulf”. Deloria wrote that: “the ceremonies have very little to do with individual or tribal prosperity. The underlying theme is one of gratitude expressed by human beings on behalf of all forms of life” (Deloria Jr., 185). With all the ceremonies and rituals there is a continuation of relationships with high spiritual powers. “Ceremonial and ritual knowledge is possessed by everyone in the Indian community, although only a few people may actually be chosen to perform these acts” (Deloria Jr., 182). Although the ceremonies and rituals are performed by a select few and are performed for the earth as a whole, individuals or tribes are still being oppressed. This oppression is forcing them to remain confidential about their ceremonies and rituals, as well as their sacred places. Sadly, this is only causing more injustice due to the lack of awareness by non-Indian societies.

Amongst the Native Americans there was and still is a great sense of religiosity, but such is also found in the life of Gandhi. Most of Gandhi’s life has been for advocacy of non-violence. In his “Selected Readings,” he writes that: “complete non-violence is complete absence of ill-will against all that lives” (Gandhi, 41). It is a perfect state and is pure Love. For Gandhi, “[he swears] by non-violence because [he knows] that it alone conduces to the highest good of mankind, not merely in the next world but in this also. [He objects] to violence because, when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary, the evil is permanent” (Gandhi, 43). Evil produces injustices but there is a source of strength one can find in Truth. “Truth exists, it alone exists. It is the only god and there is but one way to realizing it; there is but one means and that is ahimsa” (Gandhi, 45). Gandhi views Truth as justice and victory as complete non-violence. “Victory is complete if non-violence reigns supreme in spite of the griefs. Disastrous defeat is a certainty if we cannot control all the elements so as to ensure peace” (Gandhi, 45). Similarly, Satyagraha, pure soul-force, promotes non-violence by not seeking destruction, having ill-will, or inflicting pain. In Gandhi’s life and advocacy, non-violence leads to societies not lacking justice.

All three authors have different view points on justice and how societies are often the sources of injustice. There are however, similarities between all three. Martin Luther King Jr., blacks, and Native Americans don’t receive positive acknowledgement and are quickly subjected to discrimination and oppression. The Native Americans and Gandhi have rooted their acts of religiosity to beliefs and values that are ancient, but they are still valid today. Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. share the need for humility, non-violence, and nonco-operation, which is ultimately self-sacrifice for the truth. There are also things, value, and ideals that all three share together.

Within all three pieces and authors, injustice has consistently been served. Yet though it all, they value truth, and view highly of it. To them, truth upholds values of justice, creates honest relationships, but it is also a soul- or spirit-force. The soul-force, the Satyagraha “is not a physical force… [It] does not inflict pain on the adversary; … [it] does not seek destruction… In the use of satyagraha, there is no ill-will [whatsoever]” (Gandhi, 52). There are also numerous biblical roots creating even more of a foundation for sacred places, ceremonies, and rituals. Overall, those dealt injustice are some of the most resilient people around today.

The amount of oppression and discrimination present today is high, higher than it should ever be. Cornel West’s quote creates the forming of questions of what justice and love actually are, and how they are present in society. Many would say that there is justice today, but others would say the exact opposite because they have witnessed it first-hand. If Cornel West is correct about “justice being love made public,” then does that mean there is love in our societies today with the amount of injustice present? What would it take for justice to in fact be viewed as love and made public? Is it possible for all the injustices to be made right with justice? Or love?