The system ...

Today I got shafted by the system. Well, to be honest I don't know if I have been shafted yet, but the potential is definitely there.

The issue of when to fight an unjustice system is as old as time immemorial. We can think of many instances in history (usually recounted in big budget motion pictures) of when individuals have stood up to an unjust system and said "No more!" We can recall the quotes of those who have stood against injustice. "Injustice flourishes when the good remain silent."

Now I may have been slighted by the fact that my indoor soccer team could miss the finals because the stadium let the team above us play a team outside our league instead of the team in our league they were scheduled to play (and would have lost to). The stadium adjusted the rules to suit its economic interests. But in the scheme of things the injustice I felt is but a mosquito bite. But it gives me pause to consider the bigger issue.

The young man behind the counter was within his rights to throw his hands in the air and say "That's how it works. That's the system." That however does not make the system right. Nor does it absolve him of his responsibility. In fact he is complicit in the injustice of the system.

Now you might think I am too harsh on our young friend, who in reality is a really nice and friendly guy. But the issue is that being good, being nice and being friendly does not remove our need to act against injustice.

How can we allow unjust systems to remain? How can we be silent to the systematic abuses of power?

See, I told you, football can explain the world.