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Is It Fair to All Concerned?
May 1, 2020
Actually, I feel grateful that life is NOT fair. Don't you? When I see refugees fleeing from violence, and arriving at our border to be held in crowded cells, or to have their little ones taken away, I think... If life were fair, would I be safe and comfortable while others are hurting?
When I see people in prison I remember Chuck Colson declaring, "98% of people who commit crimes are never punished." The 2% in jail often lack powerful lawyers and political influence. No wonder so many people of color or struggling in poverty end up in jail.
What if we insisted on "being fair to all concerned?" Would we shed the privileges that most of us Rotarians enjoy to stand at the border with the refugees? Would we live on the average income of our community and give the rest to those in need? "Is it fair to all concerned?" could start a fire burning for justice in our souls!
A good friend owned a scanner so he could hear police calls, and I asked why he would care. "Friday," he told me, "I started from home to the city nearby and I was stopped by police FOUR TIMES along the way." "Why did they stop you?" I asked. His answer, "They were looking for a black man and I am black." Then I knew why he listened to the scanner.
"Is it fair to all concerned?" is easy to recite on Friday noon. But it will raise tough questions of justice and compassion every day if we dare to take it seriously.
I quickly insist on fairness when I'm treated unfairly. I stand up hesitantly when a friend or family member struggles with injustice. But what if injustice is hurting a stranger, or someone different from me, or harming Mother Earth? Are we "fair to all concerned?" How open is the circle of our concern?
Author: Marshall Hudson-Knapp
Sally Sugarman (Club Member & Windmill Editor)
Is It Fair to All Concerned?
May 1, 2020Actually, I feel grateful that life is NOT fair. Don't you? When I see refugees fleeing from violence, and arriving at our border to be held in crowded cells, or to have their little ones taken away, I think... If life were fair, would I be safe and comfortable while others are hurting?
When I see people in prison I remember Chuck Colson declaring, "98% of people who commit crimes are never punished." The 2% in jail often lack powerful lawyers and political influence. No wonder so many people of color or struggling in poverty end up in jail.
What if we insisted on "being fair to all concerned?" Would we shed the privileges that most of us Rotarians enjoy to stand at the border with the refugees? Would we live on the average income of our community and give the rest to those in need? "Is it fair to all concerned?" could start a fire burning for justice in our souls!
A good friend owned a scanner so he could hear police calls, and I asked why he would care. "Friday," he told me, "I started from home to the city nearby and I was stopped by police FOUR TIMES along the way." "Why did they stop you?" I asked. His answer, "They were looking for a black man and I am black." Then I knew why he listened to the scanner.
"Is it fair to all concerned?" is easy to recite on Friday noon. But it will raise tough questions of justice and compassion every day if we dare to take it seriously.
I quickly insist on fairness when I'm treated unfairly. I stand up hesitantly when a friend or family member struggles with injustice. But what if injustice is hurting a stranger, or someone different from me, or harming Mother Earth? Are we "fair to all concerned?" How open is the circle of our concern?
Author: Marshall Hudson-Knapp
Sally Sugarman (Club Member & Windmill Editor)