Commentary
Expert perspectives on justice concerns worldwide
When I was in law school, I had the privilege of working at the Institute on Race & Poverty. IRP was focused on issues that were found at the intersection of race and poverty. IRP recognized that while race and poverty were concerns independent of each other, when they intersected, it raised a different and more complex set of concerns. I appreciated that perspective as a law student, but as a professional and a community member, the realities of that perspective have deepened over time.
For many years I have heard the reference that the United States is like modern day Rome – both in its glorious achievements and also in its potential downfall. While Rome had many issues that affected its eventual demise, the underlying one was moral decay. Some would argue that morality may also be at the center of whether or not the United States will continue to achieve and prosper as a nation. I would argue that it is not just the United States that will hinge on the morality issue. Indeed, across the globe, the myriad of concerns that we read, hear and see on the news and social media, are mostly rooted in issues of morality. In some respects, while the globe has progressed on many fronts since the Roman Era, in other ways, the world seems to be backsliding into a previous time when pagan societies engaged in morally questionable and societally destructive practices. As we scan the issues of the globe over many years, we seem to have spanned from pagan to sacred and back again.
The case of Dynel Lane of Longmont, CO, who attacked a pregnant woman and killed her 7 month old unborn child, is shocking on many levels. Not only is this a particularly grisly crime, but it raises several questions for how and to whom we apply the protection of the homicide laws. Most significantly, at what point does a baby receive protections against murder?
Free speech is often hailed among the most significant of our fundamental freedoms. In the Western world in particular, freedom of speech and press has allowed for a range of voices, including voices of dissent that seem to indicate that our democracy is in a sense working. However, free speech is not completely free. There are limits and curbs based on what may be of greater importance in various contexts – such as if the speech might endanger others. That is why we can’t yell “fire” in a theater as a joke – the potential chaos and harm it raises in that context outweighs some one’s freedom to say what they want.
January was Human Trafficking Awareness month. But as the month wound down, and the fight against human trafficking carries on, how aware are we and what does that awareness prompt us to do? For many the term human trafficking does not have a clear definition. For others, the definition may be clear, but how it applies may be uncertain. Still others either don’t understand why this issue is drawing such attention or are turned off by the topic because of its salience in certain circles. The purpose of this article is to guide us toward a shared understanding of what constitutes human trafficking, how it impacts society locally and globally, and how we as individuals can address this injustice.
G.L.O.B.A.L. Justice is a non-profit organization
incorporated in the State of Colorado with 501(c)3 status with the IRS.
