Socially Inclined

By DENA L.

When I entered high school phrases like "social action" or human rights never meant much to me. I was just another teenager who wanted to go about her business, make friends, and do well in school. I had gone to a traditional Jewish day school all my life and had learned that caring for others and helping the needy were core Jewish values, but like most other kids my age I hadn't given too much thought to how I was going to better the world. I never applied what I had learned to my own life, or thought much about the beliefs I was being taught, until I went to a pluralistic Jewish High School, where Jews of all backgrounds and beliefs attended.

Seeing all these different types of people and different lifestyles made me realize that all the Jewish things I had been taught in my previous 8 years were not just facts on paper, but entire ways of life and belief systems. They were not facts to be memorized for school, but a certain group of people's opinions on how to live. It was then that I realized that it was my turn to construct my own belief system and way of life. That is when I realized the importance of social action.

When I saw that there were so many types of Jews out there it made me think of all the other religions which were around. If there are so many religions out there, why should the one into which I was born happen to be the "right" one? I then realized that many religions want basically the same thing: for people to live moral lives together in peace, and be thankful for what they have because their lives could end at any time and they should therefore treasure it. That made me realize that the one thing that unites almost all people is their belief that people should try to make the world a better place.

Then I learned some things in school that made religion seem like a way to encourage people to better the world. I also learned that certain people use religion to their advantage so they don't have to treat other people responsibly. My teachers explained that there were philosophers who believed that religion made certain people work less hard to better the world because they told themselves that if God was in control, they couldn't really make a difference. Contrarily, there were other thinkers who believed the opposite: that people's belief in God's evaluation of human conduct promoted people to take responsibility for their actions. This made God seem to me, on the one hand, like an idea for preserving order and morality in society, and on the other, like an obstacle to people's taking responsibility for themselves.

But regardless of God, I knew I had hit on an important value that nearly all people held dear: to help their fellow human beings and make the world more just. In my ideal world people would think for themselves as well as act morally with no need for motivation by fear of higher forces. A French philosopher, Rousseau stated that government was created in order that no one take advantage of his or her natural strength to infringe on the freedom of others. Civilization, he said, was people's surrender of their natural liberties for civil liberties, and that education and teaching of morals would empower people to make positive progress in the world.

I, similarly, became a believer in human beings and morals. People have the ability to better their own world. My life became a work in progress in which I was constantly checking my actions against those that would have an affect on the world. I joined a social action group in which we planned events for teenagers in the community to work on projects relating to homelessness, AIDs, issues regarding the elderly, and domestic violence. Of those activities, the one I most enjoyed were ones when I got a chance to speak to homeless people, hear their stories, and most importantly give them a face and voice.

One day after talking to various homeless people, my group went to the Statehouse to inform state representatives and senators about the issues facing the homeless, and to let them know how urgent the issue was. It is in ways like this that my social action group works on ways to help the needy, both in the long term, and the short term. Oh, and did I mention that these social action programs may be some of the most fun things I have ever done? It is a great way to meet other teens, and really get to see who they are outside of the classroom and the parties. What I expect to be some of the most long lasting friendships of my life were made through joining together to help others.