Reflections on Justice & Compassion 

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.

“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”
― Robert F. Kennedy

“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”
― Albert Einstein

“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.”
― Dalai Lama XIV, The Art of Happiness

Goals

• Deeper consideration of what justice and compassion look like
• Determine actions we can act for justice or with compassion

Taking it Home

For the elementary children, you can help them by telling them your family story — where you came from, what brought you to where you are. Help them explore the ways they are like the immigrants that we are learning about and the ways they are different. Talk about basic needs and why people would need to leave their home.

Middle School and High School ages are looking at how to live into our principle of justice, equity, and compassion in human relations. Some questions to explore: What do justice and equity look like? What is the difference between fair and equitable? What are ways we might show compassion for those we disagree with or those who are different from us?

Adults can explore the topic using the same questions as the youth. Is compassion the same thing as understanding? What are some ways you work for justice and equity? How do you practice compassion towards others?

RE Stories for the Month

Stories from the website: http://www.webelongtogetherkids.org/
The Journey by Francesca Sanna
From North to South by René Laínez and Joe Cepeda
Stories from Voices from the Field by S. Beth Atkin
Poems from Angel Island Immigrant Station: http://www.cetel.org/angel_poetry.html
“Walk of the Migrant” by Anne Principe