Whereas I may see injustice, heavy-handed justice, and/or selective justice as an opportunity for learning and improvement, looking around it feels like most of us see it as justification for intolerance, disdain, entitlement, and indifference. We are so wrapped up in self-serving judgment we misinterpret and ignore abuse that presents as lawfulness, authority, and due process. Couple this self-serving judgment with a system that traps us in the moment and we are left blind to the longer term consequences of our actions and with no vision (and perhaps no possibility) for a future that includes Humanity. Furthermore, because we are unwilling hostages in any given moment, when we have a free moment in which we can choose our actions, we too often choose to stay in the easy moment, wasting the opportunity to work ahead even toward the next few moments. We have been conditioned to maintain status quo.
Though I (claim to) see injustice as a learning opportunity, and though I believe I work to improve this moment as well as the next few, I still too often find myself unwillingly trapped or choosing ease and comfort. It is distressing to me that my arguments for choosing ease are relatively sound:
- My efforts otherwise to this point have borne no fruit.
- I am only one person.
- I am not in a position of great (or even slight) influence.
- Who am I to say how things should be?
- It is not my concern.
- It is easier.
It is these arguments that keep the majority, the majority, and the powerful, powerful.
