Benjamin Franklin’s 13 virtues, #8.  Justice:  Wrong none by doing injuries or omitting the benefits that are your duty.   At first glance, this quote rings true to the responsibility we have not only to avoid injuring those around us, but we also must avoid omitting benefits that are our duty.  A simple little phrase.  A complicated interpretation!  Whose duty is it to give, and who gets?  How much should we give, and how much should we get?  Are there duties for those who get or for those who give?  Who defines the duty?

Just the word “social justice” (which is actually 2 words, but could actually be one keyword as defined by Google or others) can cause temperatures to rise and passions to flare.  And I think that most of it comes down to one thing.  Money.  In a government context, that could be translated to taxes.

While government can be great and can accomplish magnificent things, I don’t believe that any government is the end-all, be-all.  We each have responsibilities in our personal worlds.  In the book, Rick teaches Shawn, without using words, about giving benefits that are your duty.

Shawn didn’t remember Cammi from yesterday.  It was a whirlwind lunch.  “Thank you, Cammi.  How do you know Rick?”

“He’s a regular, and we never forget great tippers.”

Shawn flinched slightly.  Great tipper?  I didn’t think you had to tip at these kinds of restaurants…

Homes in Order, Chapter 2

So, my blog is a financial blog, and I obviously have opinions on money.  But in looking at today’s virtue of Justice, I think that we also have duties that go beyond just money.  I think I have a duty of sharing the benefits of learning how to turn $1 into $5, and then learning how to turn $2 into $1,000.  So my duty has a financial aspect to it, but more than just finance.  It is knowledge and education, and it is self-reliance and self-control.  How can I teach people these powerful principles?  I’m trying!

The following is from Wikipedia:

Social justice refers to the ability people have to realise their potential in the society where they live.^[1] While “justice” (especially corrective justice or distributive justice) classically referred to ensuring that individuals both fulfilled their duties,^[2] and received what they were “due” based on interactions with other people, “social justice” is generally used in a wider way with reference to a set of institutions which will enable people to lead a fulfilling life and be active and contributors to their community.^[3] The goal of social justice is generally the same as human development, and the relevant institutions are usually taken to include education,health care, social security, labour rights, as well as a broader system of public services,progressive taxation and regulation of markets, to ensure fair distribution of wealth, equality of opportunity, and no gross inequality of outcome.

Benjamin Franklin’s 13 Virtues, Virtue #7.  Sincerity:  Use no hurtful deceit.  Think innocently and justly;  if you speak, speak accordingly. Good advice for today!

#6.  Industry.  Lose no time.  Be always employed in something useful.  Cut off all unnecessary actions.

 

In the book, Rick teaches Shawn about the magic Franklin half dollar coin, and the “tails” side of the coin is Industry.

‘Tails’ means Industry.  If you flip that coin and it comes up Tails, then Industry tells you that you need to get off your tail and you need to get out there and work.  If you’re on the job, good things happen.  Generally speaking, if you work hard, you’ll be rewarded for your work.  Much of society has forgotten the virtue of hard work.  Hard work pays off.  So that’s it.  Pretty simple, huh?”

I’m thankful for my dad who taught me to work on our family farm.  There’s always work to be done at the farm.  Fixing fences, cleaning stalls, digging ditches, hauling hay, grooming horses, repairing equipment, and countless other jobs.  In fixing fences, we learned about efficiencies.  It would take maybe 20 minutes to figure out the first process.  Then, the next time, it would only take 10 minutes, then five.  We learned how to cut off unnecessary actions.

The thing about the farm is that there’s always work to be done there.  So, it doesn’t really matter which job you do, but just be employed in doing something!