Poverty, the racial divide and social injustice do not impact only those who suffer most visibly. Alleviating poverty and injustice is a responsibility we must never forget or abandon.
Interpretation
Poverty and social injustice affect everyone in society, and we all have a duty to address and alleviate these issues.
Marc Morial emphasizes that poverty, racism, and social injustices are not confined to those who are directly affected; rather, they impact the entire society. He highlights the collective responsibility of individuals to combat these issues and advocates for continual efforts towards justice and alleviation of poverty, suggesting that we must not overlook these moral obligations.
In practice
During a speech on social justice, one can quote this to highlight the importance of collective responsibility.
The coffers are full of money and equipment for the Ferguson Police and the Missouri National Guard to put down a potential uprising, but no money for actually uplifting the people of Ferguson, St. Louis, Missouri and around the nation.
The basis for sustainable progress is legal protections grounded in an awareness of how identity has been used to deny opportunity.
It is this world, a world where cruise ships throw away more food in a day than most residents of Port-au-Prince see in a year, where white folks' greed runs a world in need, apartheid in one hemisphere, apathy in another hemisphere...That's the world! On which hope sits!
I want to help correct the inaccurate image of immigration in the media. There is an idea that women's issues are over here and immigration is over there. Three quarters of undocumented workers are women and children.
Once poverty is gone, we'll need to build museums to display its horrors to future generations. They'll wonder why poverty continued so long in human society - how a few people could live in luxury while billions dwelt in misery, deprivation and despair.
Growth is essential and must be sustained. But rapid growth alone cannot address the problems arising out of continuing disparities. Tackling these is not just a matter of social justice but, more importantly, an existential necessity and a moral imperative.
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