BY PAMELA JO BOWMAN, MESA ARIZONA — Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. – Martin Luther King

It is true that I do not believe in destiny. I believe in choice. I also believe that we are all affected by the choices and actions toward each other. You know this is true when you receive such a simple thing as a sincere smile. How that brightens a day! The reverse is equally true.

In a more profound way, when those who have been unjustly dealt with stand up and say “No! You may not tarnish my good name and reputation with lies and deceit,” it should empower all of us to stand for what we believe in and for ourselves. In my experience, standing for oneself is the hardest thing of all. How quick we are to believe the worse. Even in the face of validating evidence to the contrary, the seed of doubt was planted. It may lay dormant, but it is still planted.

Where does your choice lie? If someone were being unjust to you would you stand and defend yourself? If you knew of an injustice to another, would you stand for them? Just where do you stand? Remember that inescapable network of humanity to which we all belong, in which we are all entangled. Whatever affects one directly, affects ALL indirectly.