I draw much inspiration from Martin Luther King Jr., the mighty civil rights leader of my boyhood. The title of this post comes from one of the greatest speeches he (or anyone) ever made. Social justice has been a key value and life goal for me ever since.

Recently the Pope spoke to the German parliament along similar lines:

Allow me to begin my reflections on the foundations of law with a brief story from sacred Scripture. In the First Book of the Kings, it is recounted that God invited the young King Solomon, on his accession to the throne, to make a request. What will the young ruler ask for at this important moment? Success – wealth – long life – destruction of his enemies? He chooses none of these things. Instead, he asks for a listening heart so that he may govern God’s people, and discern between good and evil. Through this story, the Bible wants to tell us what should ultimately matter for a politician. His fundamental criterion and the motivation for his work as a politician must not be success, and certainly not material gain. Politics must be a striving for justice...[S]uccess is subordinated to the criterion of justice, to the will to do what is right, and to the understanding of what is right. (National Post, Sept. 25, 2011).

For many people, the notion of justice has to do with just desserts, for repayment of wrongdoing, and so on, that we would seek it in a court of law. The Abbotsford police building and the provincial courthouse front on Justice Way (as does the parking lot of the school board building). This is what is called retributive justice, but it is only one of the many kinds of justice.

Trustees certainly have to be concerned with retributive justice from time to time. Students are sometimes disciplined for breaking the law (e.g., being in possession of illegal drugs, sexually harassing a fellow student) and we work closely with the APD in dealing with gang activity.

We are also strong supporters of the Abbotsford Restorative Justice Assoc. led by my good friend Tony DeWaal. The Association "is a young and growing organization, vitally concerned with finding innovative ways to impart restorative values and practices to our community. Our vision is to: “Repair the harm…restore relationships… rebuild community.” They have done outstanding work in dealing with troubled students in our district.

But there is a third kind of justice of particular importance to me--distributive justice. Distributive justice has to do with the distribution of benefits (and burdens) in a fair and equitable manner. What is considered fair differs from person to person, political party to political party, and economic system to economic system.

For instance, many people think it is fair that a fourth-line NHL hockey forward, or seventh defenceman, makes $500,000 to $750,000 a year, while a teacher or nurse makes $40,000 to $60,000. Fairness in this case rests on the argument that the market determines what is a fair wage. While Canadians chose Tommy Douglas as the greatest Canadian because he introduced universal health care in Canada, a large number of Americans do not see adequate medical care for all as a human right.

My view of fairness (distributive justice) finds its source in Judeo-Christian teaching, particularly as it is developed in the Old Testament. Justice there is defined as love in action, with a particular regard for those in vulnerable and marginalized conditions. Therefore, when I have to decide how to allocate our scarce resources I always lean first towards the needs of students, and particularly those who are easier to overlook, such as students with learning difficulties, students with special needs, and their families who through no fault of their own are trapped in difficult socio-economic situations.

[Those of you with biblical interests will be familiar with Jesus' brother James' definition of pure religion: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress..(James 1:27). This is a classic expression of the Judeo-Christian understanding of justice.]

Over the years many school boards have cut back on special education when in a financial crunch.  During one particularly difficult economic time in our district I was advised by a member of the ADTA executive (I assumed that he was speaking for himself) that we should cut out all of these small groupings of students with special needs and use that money to provide financial bonuses to department heads in the secondary schools. I was appalled, of course, and continue to be whenever I hear educators, or anyone else, argue that those in stronger situations should profit at the expense of the vulnerable.