Critical Social Justice Issue

I consider education and poverty to be the most critical or pressing social justice issues in our society today. Education and poverty could have some links to each other, but I think that education is an extremely important aspect of anyone’s life today. Being a young adult who will continue on to college also believes that education is ridiculously expensive. For young people trying to get an education in order to make a living, it becomes very difficult when they are put in debt before their education even begins. I think a start to a remedy for education would be for the government to pass a law that states that college or any education can only be a certain amount of money maximum. Poverty is also a prominent issue today. There are so many destitute people in the United States that go unnoticed, and a lot of the time uncared for by the government. Many people who are poor have issues that need a resolution, whether it is mentally, physically, or emotionally. Although there are many solutions being created for the poor by Catholic Social Justice heroes, I think that the government should provide support to these individuals. With the backing of the government as a start, poverty could begin to decrease as the government becomes more and more involved. 

"Restorative Justice"

I think that “restorative justice” has its advantages and disadvantages. It is a way to better the community and hopefully the people who have wronged others, but it could also become too lenient towards criminals. For a crime like murder, I think that traditional criminal justice would be more effective especially for the community and victims. A young man who kills his girlfriend may not be able to be “restored” or restore his community. In fact, “restorative justice” could present a disadvantage of a mentality that murdering is okay. On the other hand, I do think that “restorative justice” could be more in keeping with Catholic Social Teaching, and may be the perfect solution for certain situations. However, every crime, criminal, victim, and punishment is different in various situations. I think that “restorative justice” could work for those who have committed crimes such as corruption or fraud, but for hardened criminals who brutally murder and hurt others, I think should have to face the traditional criminal justice system.

"Dead Man Walking"

By watching “Dead Man Walking” my perception of whether or not capital punishment is wrong has been greatly affected. This film has shown all sides of a crime, and the thoughts and feelings of the criminal, families of the victims, and others who are involved with these people. I am not 100% sure if I agree with capital punishment or disagree with it because I, fortunately, have not had any personal experience regarding it. After watching “Dead Man Walking,” I can only conclude that it is not right for another human being to die for the crimes committed because that person could turn around and make a difference if given the chance. However, the families deserve some sort of justice. I think that capital punishment will always remain an extremely controversial issue because of the circumstances it involves. The story of two brutally murdered teenagers deserve justice through capital punishment, but the story of a guy who looked up to a bad man and made a mistake changes my perspective of his fate. Before watching “Dead Man Walking,” I definitely believed in capital punishment. Now I think twice about it because of the extra pain that it causes the family of the one who is being put to death. 

Hotel Rwanda

     In the movie Hotel Rwanda, Jack was right when he told Paul that other people around the world would not respond to the footage of killing. Even though the footage may have been broadcasted, no one came intervene during the genocide. I think that people are so indifferent to the suffering we are able to view on the evening news because the events that we see are not happening to us. If these tragedies are not directly affecting the people watching them on the news, then most people do not respond to what they see. This movie has really opened my eyes to the tragedies that do occur around the world to which we are not exposed. Watching this movie made me think about the aspects in life that I take for granted that could be gone in an instant. I felt pain and fear watching these innocent people go through such a horrific event, and I also was in awe of Paul and all the courage he had. I do not think that I could have done what Paul did for all of those people, and risk my life along with my family’s life. In my mind, I cannot believe how this event transpired so quickly, and the hate, greed, and jealousy that took over the country. This movie made me open my eyes to the tragedies that may occur, but are not acknowledged the way they should be.