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‘Liberty and Justice for All?’
“Social justice” is a phrase individuals and institutions throw around without definition. But students in my classes can’t get away with such a lazy approach. If a student writes a paper using the phrase “social justice,” I will always, somewhere in my comments, ask two questions:
“What is your ‘social’?” and “What is your standard for ‘justice’?”
Here is an example. A student wrote a declarative comment in his paper,
Every day I am reminded of how much I have to be thankful for, living in the United States of America. But on Memorial Day I am especially grateful to the many fighting men and women who have paid the ultimate price to secure my freedom. So, during the Memorial Day weekend, I thought it appropriate to suggest some films that remind us how many others have given their lives on our behalf.
“If any pale student, glued to his desk, here seeks an apology for a way of life whose natural fruits is that pallid and emasculate scholarship of which New England has had too many examples, it will be far better that this sketch had not been written. For the student there is, in its season, no better place than the saddle, and no better companion than the rifle or the oar.”
When any one of us makes this claim—that we are proud to be an American—what does it mean? Do we still believe that it’s true? What did it mean to make such a statement 20 years ago? Ten years ago? Two years ago?
Ahead of Veterans Day, I want to make a declaration: I love my country just as anyone who may take pride in their land of birth. I stand in respect when our national anthem is sung. By doing so I give honor to those who died in service of America. I get a lump in my throat when I hear The Star-Spangled Banner sung. Tears fill my eyes when I see the flag saluted by those in uniform, when I see the flag at half-staff to remember someone’s death, or when I see a folded flag handed to the spouse whose mate gave the ultimate sacrifice for this country.
“The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.” — Alexis de Tocqueville