This means that we must respect everyone and not use them as “instruments for profit”, to not be “drugged by the comforts of privilege by becoming contributors to injustice as silent beneficiaries”, and to “work with others toward the dismantling of unjust social structures” so the minorities can be free to live the American dream. (“Men for Others”, 1974) For example, with what is occurring in Puerto Rico currently, it’s clear that our political system and social structures are messed up. Donald Trump threatened to pull emergency responders from the island because they can’t “stay there forever” and that their financial crisis was their own making. This is the opposite of what Father Arrupe’s definition of being a person for others. Puerto Ricans shouldn’t be treated like second-class citizens. Many people were disgusted by this but in order to guide our political system in a more just path, we must learn, understand, and live our lives the way Father Arrupe suggests us …show more content…
Racism has always been a problem in the nation but it is only recently coming out of the clear once again. It seems like we are reliving the time where Jim Crow laws were causing riots between races. Eddie Glaude said that before the march, Washington D.C seemed like an empty and abandoned city. “Liquor stores shuttered their doors. Washington Hospital canceled non-emergency surgeries.” (“James Baldwin and the Ugly Moral Problem in America’s Heart”, 2017) But the government knew that it will be a race riot rather than a protest and came prepared. President Kennedy was ready to send out 4,000 troops and 15,000 paratroopers in case of any disturbance. However, after all these events and the Civil Rights Act was passed, it seemed as though the racial problem was taken care of. Seeing as these same events are coming up this year alone, with transgender ban in the military, and recent massacres all over the nation, the racism was and still is a problem. It seems as though James Baldwin was a bit too optimistic when he said, in his book No Name in The Street, “That day, for a moment, it almost seemed that we stood on a height, and could see our inheritance; perhaps we could make the kingdom real, perhaps the beloved community would not forever remain that dream one dreamed in agony.” (Baldwin, 140) Although racism subsided since the Civil Rights Movement, it was