the justice project
project overview :
For this project, the first thing I learned about were the different philosophies of justice and what entails when believers are confronted with issues of injustice. I learned about environmental ethics and what justice for the world we live in means to people. I studied the use of oil and gas wells in the native reservations, specifically in Chaco canyon, a very sacred place to native people. I wrote two monologues using rhetoric and extensive research to encourage the audience to listen. The first monologue I wrote was about what is justice and what is injustice. The second, the final, was about a solution to the oil and gas crisis in the greater Chaco Canyon region. The last piece was a final project, aimed to bring awareness to an issue of injustice within the world today. My group decided to focus on mostly on discrimination of people of color, and injustices committed against the LGBTQ+ community, as well as other subjects like mental health, resources for sexual assult and suicide, and much more, things that are often swept under the rug, but still deserve just as much recognition as anything else.
justice Monologues :
justice monologue #1In Greek mythology, Themis was the Goddess of Divine Law. She is the famous embodiment of what is fair, representing balance and equality. Many in ancient Greece turned to her personification in hopes of being principled. The depiction of her in a blindfold is the representation of justice being untouched by the bias of the enforcer. The prophetic goddess was believed to be the interpreter of God’s will, in turn, justice in Ancient Greece was believed to be the will of God. Themis was said to pass on the unwritten rules of morality to mankind, such as hospitality. Therefore one might say that hospitality is just, welcoming people into your home as a show of solidarity. Justice does not always have to be implicated in a court of law, but can simply be demonstrated in everyday life as a practice of good faith even if you do not believe in prophecy or goddesses. Half of finding true justice is finding understanding. The other half is finding forgiveness. We must find it in ourselves to determine what is just and unjust. Our personal justice philosophies are greatly influenced by the way we walk through life, especially adverse experiences, as harsh circumstances and punishment often make for the most meaningful lessons. The prison system, the most tremendous example of punishment for crimes harmful to society. What is justice when somebody takes the life of somebody else? Do they deserve to lose theirs in return? Or should they get a chance at rehabilitation? Is it a greater punishment to sit in a jail cell for the remainder of their life? According to The Dalai Lama, everyone has the chance to achieve peace and be rehabilitated. True justice is giving someone the chance to change.
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justice monologue #2The voices that need to be heard the most have long been silenced. The voices that speak for the sacred land, shaped by the history of Nomadic tribes. Sacred land that is worshipped for its divine beauty and ability to sustain life, not for its ability to produce oil. In order to find a solution to the oil and gas conflicts facing Chaco Canyon, we must take into consideration the future, but more importantly the past. History has shown more than once that native voices and concerns are not given equal opportunity to be heard. To quote Joseph Desjardins “In the case of environmental problems, we must examine who is at fault.” Often permits to build wells and extract oil have been issued illegally. In some cases extraction wells have been built on sacred sites with extensive cultural value to indigenous people. “[It’s] an unseen connection of history and family and responsibility to both our ancestors and our children” Robin Wall Kimmerer. Tribal members in rural areas have less access to medical care, and yet are still subjected to toxic, dangerous pollutants that spill out of drilling sites into the air and water. Compensation costs for legal wells are sometimes non-existent, this adds up to a significant burden that indigenous people have no choice but to bear. In John Rawls Principles of Justice it says that each individual is to have equal rights, and that social and economic burdens should be distributed evenly. If this is to be true, more attention needs to be given to the concerns of the Native people. Robin Kimmerer reminds us that “All flourishing is mutual”. If Chaco Canyon is to truly flourish, all voices must be heard and given equal weight at the table of justice, because everyone has a right to be healthy, to drink clean water, and breathe clean air.
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FINAL JUSTICE PROJECT
Artist statement :We live in a world where crucial issues are swept under the rug. We live in a society that is full of judgment and hate projected towards those different from the “norm.” However, what if we were to change the “norm?” What if we could accept and love a little more day by day? What would the world look like then? We need to come to the realization that each and every human is beautiful in their own way and every single one of us has a purpose. We need to do better. We MUST do better. We decided to do this project to create awareness on the discrimination of people of color and the LGBTQ+ community. It is important to realize that all human beings are unique in their own way. Acceptance is something that personally, I don’t think will ever reach its full potential, however, if we come together and take steps day by day, in the right direction, we can get on the road to recovery from the hate and the judgment that goes on in our everyday lives. We need to learn to love each other, no matter what, before we wake up one day and it’s too late to reverse not only the damage done to the earth, but the damage we have done to each other.
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OUR INSTAGRAM PAGE www.instagram.com/peaceproject2021/
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final justice project defense and reflection
defense :
a. What did you end up doing for your project?
Our group decided to make an art piece highlighting the Black Lives Matter movement and the LGBTQ+ community. We painted a large canvas very abstractly. My individual contributions included sketching out our initial ideas for our art piece, painting the canvas, finding pictures of BLM protests and pride parades, finding the names of people of color killed by police brutality, like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. I also helped with cutting everything out, and glueing it all onto the canvas. We splatter painted over the top with pride colors as a group. We also collaborated to write the artist statement and each added our own voice.
b. How did your project reflect your personal philosophy of justice?
My personal philosophy of justice includes being able to listen and relate to people, everyone deserves a chance to be heard, and a chance for equal opportunity in everything that they do. Justice is lending a hand to somebody in need, and standing up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. It is refusing to let issues of unfair treatment be silenced, and allowing yourself to be open to the opinions and thoughts of others without deeming them unworthy because of their point of view, or any label they may put on themselves. Our project reflects the need to be heard, and a need to be understood. After all, the first step in achieving justice is compassion.
c. Did you do sufficient research and background work to pull off your project, take an informed stance or succeed in your endeavors?
The research was the easy part because there are so many instances of people belonging to the LGBTQ+ community and people of color being discriminated against and surrounded with injustice. There were significantly more sources on the more “famous” victims of injustice, like the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting, or George Floyd who will probably go down in history. The hard part is getting to a place where a paradigm shift can happen towards equality for everyone, regardless of any label.
Our group decided to make an art piece highlighting the Black Lives Matter movement and the LGBTQ+ community. We painted a large canvas very abstractly. My individual contributions included sketching out our initial ideas for our art piece, painting the canvas, finding pictures of BLM protests and pride parades, finding the names of people of color killed by police brutality, like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. I also helped with cutting everything out, and glueing it all onto the canvas. We splatter painted over the top with pride colors as a group. We also collaborated to write the artist statement and each added our own voice.
b. How did your project reflect your personal philosophy of justice?
My personal philosophy of justice includes being able to listen and relate to people, everyone deserves a chance to be heard, and a chance for equal opportunity in everything that they do. Justice is lending a hand to somebody in need, and standing up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. It is refusing to let issues of unfair treatment be silenced, and allowing yourself to be open to the opinions and thoughts of others without deeming them unworthy because of their point of view, or any label they may put on themselves. Our project reflects the need to be heard, and a need to be understood. After all, the first step in achieving justice is compassion.
c. Did you do sufficient research and background work to pull off your project, take an informed stance or succeed in your endeavors?
The research was the easy part because there are so many instances of people belonging to the LGBTQ+ community and people of color being discriminated against and surrounded with injustice. There were significantly more sources on the more “famous” victims of injustice, like the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting, or George Floyd who will probably go down in history. The hard part is getting to a place where a paradigm shift can happen towards equality for everyone, regardless of any label.
reflection :
a. We were successful in terms of raising awareness in our school community because we hung our final project up in the hallway, but what we didn’t do as well was raise awareness outside of our school. Even though we created an Instagram page, it takes a while to build a significant following, so we didn’t really reach as many people as we could have. There is still a chance for the page to grow and gain more followers, it will just take more time.
b. I think everyone in my group was excited to work on this project, so that energy kept our group engaged throughout the project. Most of the time we were focused and invested in creating a good project. Sure, there were times when we would laugh and mess around, but in the end we kept each other accountable and produced beautiful work that we were all proud to showcase.
c. The first lesson I learned from doing this Justice Project is to pick a topic that is relevant and that will keep you engaged throughout. The fact that our group picked an issue that we were all passionate about had an impact on how committed we were to using our class time efficiently. The second lesson I learned was to properly manage time so no cramming is required near the end. Our group forgot about our artist statement until the last minute, and we could have gone without the extra stress if we had done it before.
b. I think everyone in my group was excited to work on this project, so that energy kept our group engaged throughout the project. Most of the time we were focused and invested in creating a good project. Sure, there were times when we would laugh and mess around, but in the end we kept each other accountable and produced beautiful work that we were all proud to showcase.
c. The first lesson I learned from doing this Justice Project is to pick a topic that is relevant and that will keep you engaged throughout. The fact that our group picked an issue that we were all passionate about had an impact on how committed we were to using our class time efficiently. The second lesson I learned was to properly manage time so no cramming is required near the end. Our group forgot about our artist statement until the last minute, and we could have gone without the extra stress if we had done it before.