American educator and philosopher Cornel West said, “If you are always trying to do something for a cause bigger than you – connected with serving others – then it’s hard to be guilty.”
I can’t listen to Dr. West without feeling inspired and joyful, yet he is not a man who compromises the truth when he speaks. As an African American, he sees the reality of racism in his own country and around the world. He sees the economic and political inequalities, as well as the beauty of our common humanity.
Social justice issues have been a part of my life since I was 18. At first, I was angry when I learned about covert wars in Latin America and economic injustice. I felt that I had been lied to by the media and the education system. The western world was not defending democracy and freedom; we were creating fear and tyranny.
As I grew, I became aware of the fact that if the world was going to change, I needed to change. If I wasn’t going to be a source of peace and justice to those around me, then how could I even begin to talk about doing the right thing?
As the years went by, I also noticed that slowly but surely, the world actually was changing for the better. I began to understand the words so often stated by Dr. Martin Luther King, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
While I was very frustrated by the level of blatant racism that was accepted as the norm in my own country during the Oka crisis of 1990, I watched Prime Minister Stephen Harper officially apologize for the residential school system 18 years later. I also read the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2015. There is still a tremendous amount of work to do, but we are indeed bending the moral arc toward justice.
Today, I teach and write regularly about genocide and crimes against humanity. I am on a constant quest for truth, and I try to empower others with the message I learned so long ago, that each of us is part of the solution.
What I did not understand, however, was the joy I experienced in this quest. Then I heard Cornel West speak with the same enthusiasm.
As I began to research the topic, I found several studies that point out a correlation between social activism and happiness. What is not clear is whether social activism brings happiness or whether we tend to be socially active because we are happy.
This is also not to say that social activism automatically correlates with happiness. The late Abbie Hoffman, for example, inspired many in the anti-Vietnam War movement, yet tragically committed suicide in 1989.
I can only speak for myself. I know my happiness is rooted in the fact that I am a part of something much greater than Gerry. I don’t know all the answers, yet the truth constantly comes into clearer focus. I sincerely try to do the right thing and I’m constantly asking, “Am I doing enough to move the moral arc toward justice?”
Living in this mindful way, I find it difficult to be bogged down by guilt or to feel dissatisfied with life.
As I see it, a person who strives for social justice is like a proverbial blues musician. You unearth the most horrendous information regarding our inhumanity to one another, knowing that there is something powerful and liberating in truth. Yet, you are also aware that no matter how terrible the truth may be, love remains the most powerful force on earth.
And truth, just like the blues, simply has a way of making you feel better.
