My last blog about Ethical Culture and Social Justice reminded me of my college quest for finding solutions to injustice. Like many other young Americans feeling guilty about their comfortable life and the expensive colleges their parents could afford, I was attracted to the intellectual left. I took courses in Russian History and the History of International Communism. The idealism motivating radicals and revolutionaries intrigued me. It annoyed my father who was paying for my education.

At the dinner table during breaks from my studies I ranted about capitalism, poverty, and the need for radical economic redistribution. "What are you, a socialist?," my father would ask, eyeing me suspiciously. "Maybe," I'd respond somewhat pleased with his discomfort at the idea. "What better solution is there?" He'd start talking about stimulating general economic growth, but I would interrupt, "Tell that to a starving child Dad!" And so it would go…

Probably to my father's relief, and greatly accelerated by my growing dread of learning the Russian language, I switched from Soviet Studies to U. S. History. My interest in social justice remained strong, however, as I studied progressive leaders like Bob LaFollette, Teddy Roosevelt, and Jane Adams. At least, I imagine my father saying, they were easier to stomach than "socialism."

My youthful intellectual attraction to radicalism and an interest in social justice is what attracted me to Ethical Culture fifteen years ago. A number of Ethical Culture Society mission statements include the term "social justice," and the American Ethical Union proclaims itself "a religious, educational, cultural and social justice organization."

While it is relatively easy to discount egocentric Glenn Beck's equating social justice with Marxism, I take seriously the concern of more thoughtful, moderate people. I listened when a friend wrote, " I'm sure you know that social justice is a politically charged term these days…. [W]hat do you mean by social justice?"

Well, I don't mean Marxism, with is links to violent revolution and its misguided historical determinism. For me social justice represents a wide array of efforts to promote a more fulfilling life for all, greater fairness before the law, and more equitable access to resources. I believe such efforts require systemic change -- some fundamental new way of doing things. Social justice isn't about business as usual. We can no longer just what is possible but that we must change what is possible.

To nurture greater fulfillment, fairness, and equity, I believe we need sustained and coordinated collective action. It is this assumption that sets off warning bells for many moderates. Social justice is politically charged because it has to do with the basic distributions of resources and the role that government should play. Some assume that this is the equivalence of socialism. Well, what if it is? If I use these terms need I keep my head down? I hear some lay leaders and professional Leaders in Ethical Culture question how safe it is -- in America or within Ethical Culture - to urge radical perspectives on history and the economy. So I wonder, "Is Social Justice too radical for Ethical Culture? Is democratic socialism too radical for Ethical Culture?" What do you think?