Social Justice Speedy Scriptures:
Psalm 106:3 Blessed are those who act justly, who always do what is right.
Isaiah 59:8 The way of peace they do not know; there is no justice in their paths. They have turned them into crooked roads; no one who walks along them will know peace.
Jeremiah 5:28 and have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not seek justice. They do not promote the case of the fatherless; they do not defend the just cause of the poor.
Matthew 23:23 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices-- mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law-- justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former."
Global Hunger:
Video card: The Cycle of Malnutrition
Walk me through some of the ways that climate change impacts hunger: salination of fresh water, erosion of soils, desertification of areas, required (and often unexpected) relocation due to natural disasters, which increase in intensity, frequency, and diversity due to climate change. All of these make it much harder to grow traditional foods (or any food!), and increase the amount of stress put on the body and mind. *Developed nations (hint: that includes us) have a huge impact on climate change, as do our tendencies to move manufacturing to countries that have fewer restrictions on pollution.
War has a huge impact on ability to provide for yourself and your family. List 2 influences that can cause war: Economically advantageous areas (want to control the funds- diamonds, precious metals (particularly for technology *this is something we contribute to), fertile lands (*also something our demands for say, flowers in the winter, contributes to), drugs), religion, extreme imbalances in wealth (corruption, graft, and improper controls on international aid are all ways this can happen), tribal/cultural conflicts (country lines don't follow traditional territories), political/governmental instability (which then leads to instability in global markets, rising prices, restricted crop production (not sure if the market will be there, or if war breaks out, if the crop can mature), declining ability to work, lack of jobs, environmental impacts due to lack of regulation or putting importance on it, general illness).
What is the estimated cost to end global hunger? $30 billion a year, for 10 years ($300 billion total), primarily invested in improved infrastructure and farming methods. If the U.S. were the ONLY country to tackle this problem, it would cost us $95/person/year.
Poverty in America:
Discussion about the differences between social and economic classes. The differing expectations, concerns, and goals of each class can make it very hard for someone to either a) advance to a higher class and feel like they fit in well enough to stay within that class or b) understand why other classes act the way they do, often leading to stereotypes and anger, rather than working together. We discussed the importance of mentoring to help bridge these gaps.
List 3 reasons/challenges to someone might not be able to advance economically: the -isms (racism, sexism, age-ism, disability), insufficient funds to purchase a vehicle or pay for public transportation (this also includes location and zoning issues, as we tend to legally separate work/live areas- harder to live by where you work), high cost of education, lack of time to search for new ideas/opportunities (long hours worked just to survive), expensive housing/utilities in areas of economic development (i.e.- more jobs in Milwaukee than in northern WI, but cost of living is also much, much higher), poor nutrition (no energy, decreased development due to malnutrition- and you can be obese and malnourished, as well!), exposure to narcotics, etc. as a child/in utero, lack of support (childcare, abuse, housing issues), circumstances out of their control (accident, injury, etc.)
Name 3 reasons that contribute to a lack of employment opportunities in the U.S.: corruption on Wall Street, legal requirement that public companies (those with stockholders) make decisions to create highest return for stockholders (not for their employees or society as a whole), high CEO salaries (rather than using those funds to create more opportunities or pay a higher wage), reliance on technology (which has eliminated some job fields), cheap consumerism (when we search for the cheapest option, with no other considerations, we're encouraging companies to move their jobs overseas to cut costs), political incentives (some say we should sweeten the deal for companies to keep them here, others say we should make it harder for them to ship jobs overseas, and others say we just need to butt out politically and become more responsible consumers, incentivizing companies through our purchases).
True or False: Welfare and other social aid policies alleviate poverty. This was a discussion (not a right or wrong answer) about enabling vs. helping, and how people can get lost in the cracks (such the gap between being eligible for benefits until you make a certain amount of money, but the cost to provide those benefits for yourself actually costing much more than the income cutoff).
Human Trafficking:
In June of 2013, 100 children were rescued in a nation-wide sex slavery sting. Did you hear about it? Bonus points if you can name the city where the most children were rescued (Milwaukee). The issue here is a lack of awareness- Milwaukee is our backyard! This doesn't just happen in third world countries.
Name 2 forms of human trafficking: Adoption (adoption is a beautiful thing! But without due research, many have unknowingly adopted children who had families, simply by using unethical agencies), organ harvesting, manual labor (a major form in the US), domestic servitude (this also happens in the US), sexual servitude (including personal slaves, pornography, and prostitution- all present in the US), debt bondage (entering into a work agreement to pay off a debt, and then not ever being released), drug trade, early marriage, begging, athletic endeavors (camel racing jockeys are often trafficked children), forced recruitment for the armed services/child soldiers. All of these areas have root causes that can be addressed.
Name 3 risk factors for becoming a victim of human trafficking: poverty, moving/relocating for the promise of a job (high unemployment in an area and being cut off from support are the main issues here, though high unemployment often also increases the number of johns perpetuating prostitution), age/youth, broken families, running away, drug/alcohol use, government corruption (can buy off the officials who should be prosecuting these crimes), lack of community closeness (less likely to notice when things are wrong), being part of a socially excluded group, homelessness, refugee status, and last but not least, being female. Addressing any of the causes of these issues also indirectly addresses the issue of human trafficking (and for the smart alecks, the being female one is more about inequality than plumbing)! Social justice issues are almost always interconnected, so work in one area can have good outcomes in multiple areas- which should be really encouraging!
Name 2 tools used in human trafficking: kidnapping/force, "selling" a person (to pay a debt, for property/possessions, etc.), promising a job (often combined with relocation), relationship with the trafficker (such as luring girls into prostitution by being their "boyfriend"- also goes along with the promise of marriage in many cases, including trafficking outside of sex slavery), physical/mental/sexual/emotional abuse to "break" the victim psychologically, bribery of local police, fear of legal repercussions (for example, prostitution is illegal, "so if you report me as your pimp, you'll be thrown in jail for being a prostitute, too."), internet listings (even Facebook, Craigslist, and Twitter have been used to promote human trafficking, since it's harder to catch someone who's not physically there).
And just in case you're interested:
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/slavery-america-undeniable-truth/story?id=5330502&singlePage=true
Make sure you attend on February 2nd to get the happier side of this story- what people are already doing, and how you can incorporate social justice into your own life!
5 Minutes of God Time:
Kings and Queens by Audio Adrenaline
You are More by Tenth Avenue North
Thank you.
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