America was founded in 1776 with the core idea of freedom and equality for all (time period racism and sexism aside). While the definition of equality and to whom it applies to changes generationally, the meaning behind it has remained. If someone were asked to describe America in one word, 9 times out of 10 they would reply with “freedom”, and would avidly defend it. So why doesn’t the word “equality” come up as often as “freedom” does? Some people treat inequality in the way skeptics treat ghosts; fictional and wholly unimportant. However, inequality is an undeniably real problem, with the social justice movement being one of the only solutions presented thus far. Social justice initiates change and works towards …show more content…
Change that has impacted history has almost always been generated by the people; our core founding document acknowledged the people’s right to overthrow tyrannical governments (“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations...it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”). Citizens can do what the government can’t; we smooth the edges harsh policies cause and we make up for what the government can’t do. Laws that hold the government back from interfering don’t apply to us, and these issues that the citizens advocate on behalf of are oftentimes the ones that become the most important (i.e. Black Lives Matter, the Civil Rights Movement, Women’s Suffrage Movement, etc.). Social justice advocacy can be anything from protesting outside the Capitol to voting in the local elections, and can bleed into every aspect of life. Since social justice advocacy can be as simple as using one’s voice to educate others, a certain societal expectation exists to do so, but as previously mentioned, this is technically the land of the free, so there’s no legal responsibility. However, a legal responsibility of the government is to maintain and protect the rights of the people, so social justice advocacy should be one of their top priorities. In fact, many would argue that social justice advocacy is their only responsibility.
In conclusion, social justice advocacy is vital to maintaining the rights of the people (civil and human alike) and working towards gaining more. It is one of the only things that both citizens and politicians can use to make a difference, and it is the responsibility of everyone to do