No disagreement with your comments, Roger, except that they seem to
respond to things I didn't suggest.
My concern is that we (me included, and especially those who have
benefited from the privilege rather than the right of education and are in
positions of power) sometimes forget the reasons for social justice and
get into debates over its content. Each of us has strong commitments to
what that content should be and focusing on developing the critical
capacities we need to function in a fully democratic context can help us
remain open to reassessing our own positions. This would be fruitful,
and not self-serving, if and when everyone is educated. In the best of
cases, it can open our imaginations to deeper discoveries of social
justice.
Where did you think there was any reference in my comments to
self-serving isolation or elitism?
By the way, did you know that using all caps is the convention
for yelling on email? Kim
On Fri, 16 Aug 1996, Roger Bergman wrote:
>
> I've interjected a few responses within Kim's original post...
>
> Roger Bergman, Director, Justice & Peace Studies Program
> Creighton University, 2500 California Plaza, Omaha, NE 68178
> (402) 280-1492, FAX 280-4731; rbjps@creighton.edu
>
>
> On Thu, 15 Aug 1996, Kim Johnson-Bogart wrote:
>
> > It seems to me that the goal of democracy is full participation of
> > educated citizens who can think critically and exercise thoughtful
> > judgment.
>
> YES, BUT CAN'T BE SEPARATED FROM SOCIAL JUSTICE: PARTICIPATION IN THE
> ECONOMY, EDUCATION, ETC. A MISEDUCATED POOR PERSON HAS LITTLE CHANCE OF
> PARTICIPATING IN DEMOCRACY. WHAT'S TO KEEP THIS VISION OF DEMOCRACY FROM
> BECOMING, SELF-CONTRADICTORILY, AN ELITIST AFFAIR?
>
> Jefferson recognized that this meant we have to let go, trust
> > each other as far as outcomes, the particular decisions citizens reach.
> > If this is the case, focusing on social change or social justice as the
> > end of our work makes me nervous because I think it is too easy to slip
> > into believing in change for change's sake or to fall into debates about
> > whose notion of "just" will prevail. If we focus on critical
> > capacities--cognitive, affective, ethical--as the goal of our work, then
> > negotiating complex understandings and previously unimagined compromises
> > becomes our task. And hopefully, we create the possibility of a social
> > justice none of us has imagined yet. Kim Johnson-Bogart
>
> WHY NOT HONE CRITICAL CAPACITIES DEBATING JUST WHAT SOCIAL JUSTICE OR
> DEMOCRACY ENTAILS? UNLESS DEMOCRACY SIMPLY MEANS EVERY CITIZEN FOR
> HIM/HERSELF (ANOTHER SELF-CONTRADICTION) IT MEANS ARGUING (IN THE BEST
> SENSE) ABOUT HOW WE ARE TO LIVE TOGETHER, ABOUT WHO HAS THE POWER, WHO
> GETS THE BENEFITS, WHO BEARS THE BURDENS. I WOULD ARGUE THAT DEMOCRACY IS
> NOT SIMPLY AN END IN ITSELF, BUT A MEANS TOWARD ACHIEVING A JUST SOCIETY.
> DEMOCRACY AS MAJORITY RULE, FOR EXAMPLE, COULD BE QUITE UNDEMOCRATIC FOR
> OPPRESSED MINORITIES.
>
> >
> > On Wed, 14 Aug 1996, Nick Cardilino wrote:
> >
> > > One of the things that I try to avoid as much as possible is getting
> > > into discussions about the meanings of particular words. We have had
> > > a great many discussions on definitions of the words "community,"
> > > "service" and "leadership" on our campus as of late (so I find myself
> > > spending a lot more time with students than faculty members any more
> > > ;-) ). Nevertheless, I'll throw my $.02 into this discussion about
> > > social change and social justice. Has anyone thought about phrases
> > > like social action or social concern? To me they seem more vague
> > > than these other two, but that may end up being a good thing. Just a
> > > suggestion. I wish I could be at the NSEE conference, but that's a
> > > very busy time for us in our office. So, I expect to hear all about
> > > the discussions on this list-serv.
> > >
> > > Peace,
> > >
> > > Nick
> > >
> > > ======================================================================
> > > Nick Cardilino "A different world cannot be built
> > > University of Dayton by indifferent people."
> > > Center for Social Concern --Horace Mann
> > > E-mail: cardilin@trinity.udayton.edu
> > > Phone: (513)-229-2524 Fax: (513)-229-2035
> > > homepage: http://www.udayton.edu/~campmin
> > > ======================================================================
> > >
> >
> >
>
>