Overview: The Justice Project was the cohesive, overarching project that through smaller goals, was made easier to create our final work. Simply, the Justice Project asks us to question what we believe justice to be. There was 6 major parts of the entirety of the Justice project. The first thing we learned about were the philosophies of justice. We researched several types, had discussions, and gave our opinions. Some examples include libertarianism and utilitarianism. This then blended into environmental ethics, where we had a good time researching and learning about them and applying then to the greater world. 2 keys ethics that are fundamental to my world view are conservation and preservation. From here we used our environmental ethics to debate viewpoints around the designation of Bears Ears as a national monument. We had to represent all sides, so being well researched and vocal was very important. After that we watched 2 films, True Justice and Beyond Standing Rock. We had class talks about them and we all found it very interesting. This helped us develop our own idea of justice. Through this project we had 2 justice monologues where we gave a speech of sorts regarding our personal idea of justice. We picked a topic, researched it, and gave a speech in front of the class. These were essential to the final justice project. The final justice project was obviously the finale of the semester long project. Here we researched a topic, created a project that fit us, and finally had to defend it and reflect on it. This summarized all we had learned throughout the year.
Justice Monologue #1
What is Justice? - Cormac Justice is allowing every person the ability to succeed and have the opportunity to do what they choose. One’s definition and idea of justice, to be based in reality and to be effective, must be complex and not black and white. It is true some things in life are black and white, but the idea of Justice is not one of them. To say it is, is a false-dichotomy. The idea of Justice is not one of libertarianism, Utilitarianism, nor is it Rawl’s idea of justice, it is a blend of all these ideas, as with most every ism under the sun. Justice in my eyes, is equality of opportunity, not outcome. Justice is liberty, unalienable rights given not by Government, but by humanity as a whole. The fundamental negative liberties that every person desires and deserves. Government, created by the people and for the people has the right and the responsibility to uphold positive liberties. To ensure the health of a nation, the 3 core principles, safety, liberty, and Justice must be kept in balance. In John Rawl’s eyes, life should not be a lottery, all should have the ability to be born into an environment that will harbor one’s personal idea of success. To even the playing field, the key idea of the liberty principle must be applied. This key idea entitles every soul to the same unalienable rights that serve as a foundation for a proper society. But why must Rawls believe the idea of the American dream to be unrealistic? An ideal that both my mother and father believed in, helping them get out of poverty. Simply, he thinks even characteristics such as hardwork and perseverance are morally arbitrary. But Mr. Rawls also believes in equal opportunity, a cornerstone of the U.S Bill of Rights. A slight split between Mr. Rawl’s ideas and the Bill of Rights, (the direct faucet of libertarianism) are the ideas of meritocracy and merit. As merit, and therefore meritocracy are key ideas in both the American consciousness and humanity as a whole, I see this as clear evidence that operating on the ideas as separate, rather than a “stew” of sorts is where we go wrong. Everyone should have the equal opportunity to achieve their idea of success. To be given from birth, negative liberties from the human consciousness, and secured positive liberties by the government created to uphold justice, personal merit, (based on things within one’s control), should be the only thing dictating whether you achieve said success or not
Justice Monologue #2
My Project
For my project, I did an op-ed for the Durango Herald about the complexity of oil and gas in the greater Chaco Canyon region. I did my best to balance tribal, environmental, and the oil and gas concerns and opinions. I researched what was the best method (in my opinion) to balance these different perspectives. Op-ed Below:
The Chaco Canyon region, an area of immense beauty, history, and great wealth beneath the surface, is at the forefront of a debate regarding the single question, “How do we properly balance all perspectives in and around the Chaco region to benefit the most amount of people?” With the various and seemingly opposed viewpoints, is it possible to find a solution that possibly works for all parties involved? Protecting the pristine landscape and wild lands, honoring the Native American spiritual sites, and allowing oil and gas companies to drill the region must be possible in some capacity. Of course, there will be compromises and not every group will get the exact results they want, but if we can not come to that consensus, we will not be able to find a solution. To understand this “debate”, there are the influential, key figures we must meet first. For simplification, I will divide the players into 2 sides, pro-development & anti-development. The Dine CARES, the San Juan Citizens Alliance, and the WildEarth Guardians represent the anti-development/ Native American heritage side. The Bureau of Land Management and oil & gas companies are the pro-development group. These 2 sides are seemingly opposed. The DINE group stated in an interview in 2003, “Because of their significance to Diné life, any desecration through oil and gas drilling on or near the two mountains will have a devastating effect on Navajo beliefs,” stated Mr. Shirley. “Calvert Garcia, president of the Nageezi chapter of the Navajo Nation and an aide to Mr. Shirley, was more graphic. “‘ It’s like putting a gas well on top of the Lincoln Memorial,” he said. Understanding these viewpoints is essential, as the region is key to the Navajo cultural story. On top of that, the land has great natural beauty and historical value. President of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, Bob Gallaher stated they must respect the Navajo concerns while balancing energy demands. In the eyes of oil and gas companies and government agencies, the land has immense value for another reason. Underneath the Chaco region is untold amounts of high grade oil and natural gas. A geographic study found there is potentially 50 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, potential millions upon millions of dollars sitting there. In an area starved of good jobs, development of the region could be a life saver. “The stakes for both the Navajo and the gas industry could hardly be higher. The San Juan Basin -- which stretches over much of this part of New Mexico and into southwestern Colorado, including areas of the Navajo Nation and its fringes — accounts for about 7 percent of the gas supply of the United States, helping to make New Mexico the second-largest gas- producing state after Texas.” Throughout this “debate”, the apparent new-comers, the oil and gas industry seem to be the ones who must adapt to the situation. As historical and cultural significance seems to have a more fragile & have greater impact in the eyes of our society, it makes sense why this would happen. Oil and gas deposits exist in nearly every place on earth. Protected and pristine cultural and historical sites, as well as untapped natural beauty are much more rare. From my point of view, the best way to come to a compromise in this situation seems to be the current, accepted manner. Protect the inherent historical sites and areas with direct and clear beauty, and then allow minimal drilling on other locations in the area. The thing about compromises, is though we may get a part of what we wish, you will not get everything you want. In this situation, the Oil and Gas companies are severely limited to the amount of land and area they can drill on. The Native American side would generally say any amount of drilling on that land is a desecration of a highly significant cultural area. And lastly, an environmental perspective would say drilling in the area could cause untold amounts of damage to the inherent beauty and ecosystem. But allowing limited drilling in less pristine (already somewhat developed) areas of this site & keeping as many major historical and cultural locations safe would seem to benefit and satisfy as many viewpoints as possible. As we are all on this rock together, trying to lead ourselves to a compromise is the best solution, and to ask ourselves, “What can I do to help” will do great good in our world.
Beautiful Work Rubric:
Evidence of Success:
Initial Writing:
Asking Peers For Feedback:
Research:
Another Bit of Writing:
Final Piece of Writing Before Submission:
Submitting to Durango Herald:
Project Defense:
1. What did you end up doing for your project? For my project, I did an op-ed opinion piece that I submitted to the the Durango Herald. I was tackling the complexity of oil and gas drilling in the Chaco canyon region. I researched the various perspectives such as the oil and gas, environmental, and tribal. From there I condensed my thoughts into a solution that might solve such a complicated issue.
2. How did your project reflect your personal philosophy of justice? My project reflected my personal philosophy of Justice is several ways. Looking back, I see 3 key philosophies and ethics that were clearly in this project. As a philosophy of justice, I saw utilitarianism, as my overarching goal with the project was to find a solution that would fit all parties. Benefiting the majority while looking for compromises would seem to fit such an idea. As I did my project on an environmental injustice, I believe my 2 most important ethics were show here, conservation and preservation. I made it clear that I believe cultural and historical value are fragile and can not be recreated once destroyed. Regarding the environment, I thought preserving the untouched wilderness of the area would be a potentially good idea. If I had to summarize my philosophy, it would be, "Benefit the majority as much as possible without treading on the minority" You can interpret "benefit" in your own eyes, but regarding the environment, I believe having native lands and untouched wilderness helps humanity as a whole. But do see we need development to also help humanity. As I tried my hardest to balance all sides of the issue, I feel it is more in line with justice as everyone's voice can be heard, not just a select.
My project allowed me to research something I care about, and share it with the community through the paper. As I enjoy writing, using this skill to share my beliefs potentially helps others develop their own stance on the issue, as well as develop mine. I feel this brought about more justice as it raised awareness for my issue, allowing others to potentially see the importance in it as well. 3. Did you do sufficient research and background work to pull of your project, take an informed stance or succeed in your endeavors? Explain! I feel I did sufficient research and background work with this project. At first I had lots of trouble finding sources specifically regarding Chaco. Here I got discouraged, but instead of giving up, I contacted Ashley. From here she helped me get many in depth and quality sourced that did wonders for my project. I thoroughly went through these and outlined important information for later use. This allowed me to succeed in my goals and take an informed stance. And as my goal was to share the information I had found, this allows others to take an informed stance as well.
Reflection:
1. In what ways were you successful in meeting the goals you established in your project proposal? What contributed to your successes?
I feel I was successful in meeting my goals I had established in my project proposal. Looking over the goals I set, I see that I succeeded on paper regarding each and everyone. I also met all my goals and signs of success on my project rubric in my opinion. I feel being interested in my project and already having some knowledge regarding it were 2 key factors in my success. My goals were also simple, but not overly simple. As I had lots of hard work going on outside of this class, I set them lower than usual, but still enough to feel proud of what I had done. The goals I had set were:I need to learn more about Chaco. I need to learn more about the proposals at hand regarding Chaco. I need to hear all sides of the argument. I need to condense all information I find into a readable format. I need to create an op-ed with this information. 2. In what ways were you unsuccessful in meeting the goals you established in your proposal? What contributed to your failures? What did you do to try to overcome the obstacles? What should you have done differently?
This question is a bit harder to answer. As I feel on face value, I was successful in meeting my goals both for the project as well as the rubric, I feel I succeeded. But, as mentioned in the last question, I had an enormous amount of work outside my humanity class. I had a heavy work schedule, college course (large projects due), prep for college, math project, and a geology project. Due to this, I set my goals easier than other projects I have done. But I feel this was justified as I would of collapsed from the weight of everything if I had set my sights higher. Since I played to my strengths, there was not much room for failure. The biggest problem I did face was getting time to work on it and keeping interest in the project. I was interested in what I was doing, but with all that was going on in my greater life, I had low energy regarding the project.
3. To what extent did you SHOW UP for this project? How engaged/committed/involved were you in the work? How much did you strive to create beautiful work worth doing? To what extent were you accountable to yourself and others if relevant? I have talked about this quite a bit in the last 2 paragraphs. I feel I "showed up" the best I could regarding the circumstances in my greater life. As I had an immense workload with this class during covid-19, I had too much on my "plate." I felt interested in what I was learning and doing, but found working on it and finding time to work difficult. With covid, It was hard asking questions about my project with ashley. Spur of the moment questions in class are easy, writing an email about a question is not. So regarding my normal beautiful work, this was less (90/100). But regarding the circumstances in my life, I feel this was the best I could of done, and I gave it as much as my all that I could. As I finished my project and succeeded with my goals I feel like I did a good job.
4. What TWO key lessons did you learn from this project that you can apply to senior project? Think about how senior project involves choosing a project you’re passionate about that is viable in the time provided, completing multiple steps over the course of a semester, potentially collaborating with other organizations or people, fundraising, spreading the word, and so much more!
I learned 2 key lessons that I will apply to my senior project. Those being choose something you are very interested in, and don't be afraid to share you are having trouble. Obviously the senior project is a massive project over the year, and choosing something you had great interest in will be vital to keeping track and making sure you are working on it. With my justice project, if I had not have had a project I was interested in, it would have been significantly more difficult to complete it. Sharing you were or are having trouble and advocating for help is exceedingly important too. We all run into trouble and sharing that allows others to help. Sharing I had an extreme workload outside of school lets my teachers help me and review my work in a different light.