Our culture is increasingly oppressive, in that people are taught to not speak out or take a stand for themselves and others. From children bullied to corrupt officials going unpunished, we are shown that injustice is the norm to be expected and accepted. Such desensitization and apathy bleeds into all aspects of life, from work habits, to our communal standards of decency and empathy. Unethical behavior towards others is commonplace. The degradation of ethical standards of justice is happening all across the world.
I was told of a prime example of such apathy towards injustice when I lived in Cochabamba, Bolivia. The president of Bolivia arbitrarily raised the price of gasoline to approximately five U.S. dollars per gallon overnight, which was more than twice the normal price. Public transportation doubled their prices to compensate for the increase in fuel cost. A group of children aged 8 to 12 peacefully complained about the price increase on their way to school. The bus driver dragged them out of the bus, and two additional bus drivers joined him in savagely beating the children. No charges were leveled against the drivers. What lesson could those boys have learned other than that to speak out means being beaten and silenced? Continue reading “An Issue of Importance to Me”