Circle of Justice

After watching the candidates’ responses to the Circle of Protection, I noted their differing views. Each one emphasizes their belief in the Circe of Protection, yet the candidates differ on how they plan to maintain the charitable circle. Obama definitely has a strong value of God, faith, and prayer (throughout his speech he mentioned these terms many times). He mentions how he prays for those in need and that our nation “is all in this together.” His word sound very supportive and he seems confident that his work thus far as president has helped maintain the Circle of Protection. In my opinion, Obama’s mission seemed to strive for charity. He believes we can help the poor by continually giving to them from our nation’s revenue. He does not want the budget cuts to be targeted at the lower class because they are the ones who need it the most. I definitely agree with the latter statement. However, I think there is a difference between giving to the poor and teaching the poor to help themselves. Romney continually emphasized a mission of justice. Unlike Obama, he did not often mention giving to the suffering. Instead, he promotes his plan to restore our economy. With a recovering economy, more jobs will be available. Less people will be on the welfare payroll and on a salary payroll. Then, the suffering Americans will have a supportive supply of money to work and feed themselves, rather then be fed off our nation’s support system (as Obama is promoting). The weakness in Romney’s plan is that some of his budget cuts may originally hurt the poor. However, after the upper class begins spending again, our growing economy may be back into full swing.

Project H.O.M.E.

Project H.O.M.E. works for justice in Philadelphia by enabling homeless people to get a fresh start. They even provide adult education and employment offices to allow their members to one day get a solid career. They include temporary charitable works as well, such as providing temporary shelter or aiding with medical care. However, their goal planning center and education office paves the way for a long lasting effect. I think the factor that sets this center apart from the “typical homeless shelter” is their employment services. This better model allows the homeless to one day have a new job with a solid income. With a fully staffed team to find Philadelphia job openings, the members of Project H.O.M.E. will have the same opportunities a college or high school student would. They will have a personal counselor to assist them in confusing areas and prepare them for the career world. Without learning proper interview skills, it can be hard to land a job. The suffering can now relearn proper techniques to get the career they’ve always dreamed of. They even provide art classes as part of training. The employment services and education department is the unit that actually ends the homeless cycle. Once people are homeless, they tend to fall into a repressed cycle of being temporarily back on their feet and then falling into old habits again. Project H.O.M.E. truly does justice, not charity, because of their ability to provide the life lasting career effects. Their website shows the many people who have benefited through these services. While medical care and shelter are definitely helpful, I believe the employment/education department is the most important program. Their three employment offices can search for the perfect job matches for individual people. By allowing people to set goals they can strive for, their lives may be changed for good. H.O.M.E gives the suffering people of Philadelphia the boost they need to truly rewrite their life path.

9/11 Reflection

In the bible, there are many accounts of forgiveness. For example in the New Testament, Jesus forgave those persecuting him. Jesus' account is an account of extreme forgiveness. I cannot imagine forgiving those who caused my death. I also think it would be extremely difficult for the victims of 9/11, or their families, to forgive the terrorists who caused their death, as Jesus' forgave his murderers. However, at our Junior retreat, we learned forgiveness can sometimes be more about yourself than who you are forgiving through Mrs. DeStefano's life story. Forgiveness let's you have peace with the tragedy. You can leave the event and the trauma it caused in the past instead of holding on. Therefore, I believe all those who are psychologically suffering from the effects of 9/11 may need to be the ones to forgive. Then they find peace within themselves to live a positive life. All the victims did not want to leave behind mourning families, but families who would live their life happily. So let us not forget the honorable people who died, and live life to its fullest potential in the present.