Liberty & Justice for All

This morning, I breathed a sigh of relief as I was excused from jury duty.  I had spent all day Tuesday sitting in a courtroom, several hours of which I was sitting in the jury box and questioned.  I was still sitting in the jury box as court ended, and everyone in the room was told to return on Thursday morning.  I had a feeling that I might be picked as a juror and was already trying to figure out how that was going to work.  The trial was excepted to last 3-4 weeks, so it would have required some degree of sacrifice.  Going through this process really opened my eyes and gave me a new found appreciation for things I have always just taken for granted.  I wanted to write about this experience, not necessarily to make a political statement, but to reflect on the rights we have in this country and what justice really is.

1. Trial by jury.  This is not a given in countries around the world.  I do not know the exact numbers about this, but I do know legal representation and having a trial are not universal.  No matter what I thought or felt about the defendant, they deserve a fair trial, as does every other person accused of a crime.  I think all of us would want the same for ourselves, our family members, and our friends if we were ever in that situation.  Of course, to have a jury requires citizens to participate.  As much as I don't like having to go down to the courthouse, to miss work, to sit and wait, I definitely think it is a small price to pay for a participatory government.  I have been eligible for jury duty for almost 6 years and have only had to physically report one time.  Most Americans love our "freedom" and our "rights," but everything comes at a cost.  Having seen a little more of the inter-workings of the system, I feel the cost for most people is not too much to bear.

2. Participatory Government.  Does the government have a lot of red tape?  Absolutely.  Does it often take a long time for things to get done?  Yes.  Does it feel like we really have a significant say in the things that happen?  I would tend to say no.  However, I think most of us have more opportunities to participate in our government than we take advantage of.  Sure, in most cases, we have the right to not participate.  Voting.  Attending political meetings, rallies, forums, etc.  Writing to our representatives.  Some things are not really negotiable, like jury duty, for example.  But the point is - this is really a privilege.  I can express my views on just about anything via social media and I am probably not going to be arrested.  I can go to church and worship without fear.  I could tell someone the candidate that I voted for.  As a woman, I can vote.  I can watch Congress and the House on television.  I can get a hold of thousands of documents that are public record.  I can freely voice my concerns.  I can have friends who do not share any of my political beliefs.  I am not saying that I love politics, that I always vote on everything, that I have a claimed political party, or that I enjoy all aspects of our government - because that would not be true.  I am saying that we do have a lot of access to our government, and that it is our right to choose whether or not we take advantage of that.

3. Duty as citizens.  You have probably heard the words of JFK (or at least whoever wrote his speech :) "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."  I would say most of us today do not feel this way.  We really don't want to have to do anything for our country, yet we tend to be frustrated about a variety of things.  I think if we lived during a different era, specifically WWI and WWII, we might view this differently.  I am always amazed at how people so willingly banded together for the war effort.  I cannot believe that everyone who went without rubber or sugar, who grew victory gardens or worked in a factory, supported the government and the war 100%.  Yet I think people had a greater respect for our rights and our freedom, and they were willing to make some sacrifices to protect it.  Sure, even during my lifetime, we have been in multiple wars.  And many Americans did sacrifice, either by serving themselves or having a family member or friend serve.  But myself, and I imagine many of us, really did not do anything for our country.  Whether or not I believe in war, support the party in office, like the President, I am still a U.S. citizen and I still have some degree of responsibility to my country.  In a very small way, showing up for jury duty affirmed that yes, I am a citizen, and this is one of my duties.  I was very encouraged to see the diversity of all the people I met.  We all have different life experiences, heritages, struggles, and triumphs, but for those few hours, we were all Americans.  

4. Liberty and justice for all.  It is human nature to judge others, to place people into categories, to make current decisions based on our past experiences.  As the attorneys questioned us, they basically were trying to impress that we had to set aside everything that had happened in our lives, even some of the things we may be prone to think and to believe, and essentially erase all of that in order to give the defendant a fair trial.  Although I am confident that within that setting I could have done that, it definitely made you think about how easy it is to be biased.  How easy it is to make assumptions.  I cannot say I necessarily felt sorry for the defendant, but I did feel sorry that so many people in the room were praying they could get out of there as soon as possible.  At the beginning of the day, I felt that way too.  But as I looked at them, looked around the room, I just imagined how it would feel to be awaiting trial and wondering if there will even be 12 people left to be a fair jury, as so many people have been excused for one reason or another.  If I believe in a country that offers liberty and justice for all, who am I to try to run away from my opportunity to be a part of that.

5. The truth.  I cannot tell you how many people said something along the lines of "just say something to get out of it."  Let me just say that when you are sworn under oath and sitting among dozens of your fellow citizens who now know your name, what you do, where you work, and other personal information - I cannot imagine blatantly lying.  I am not a racist and I would never say something of that nature to get out of a civic duty.  I may have certain thoughts, opinions, paradigms as does every human being, but the question was not "Have you ever made an assumption about anyone?  Or do you feel one way or another about this crime?"  The question was can you put those things aside to be a fair and impartial juror.  And the honest answer was yes.  I will not compromise my integrity because something is inconvenient and time-consuming.  I hope those that know me would understand that.

I am still human.  I am grateful to be at home, to go to sleep, and to wake up and go to work.  But I will not forget what this taught me, and if I am ever chosen to be on the jury, I will serve - to uphold justice and to give something to my country that has given so much to me.

13 Letters & Counting

For as long as I can remember, I have always loved both sending and receiving mail.  My earliest memories of sending mail were at age 6, when my cousin and I became penpals. It was so exciting to receive something in the mail 'just because' and not for Christmas or a birthday.  I have been called a hoarder, but I have saved almost every handwritten card, letter, and note that I have received over the years.  Although most of the time they simply occupy a box or a bin, there are random moments when I will take them out, read a few, and be blessed all over again.  I used parts of letters to write my speech when I was Maid of Honor at my penpal cousin's wedding.  For one of my friend's birthdays, I went through our old junior high notes and made copies of them, which I used background paper for a scrapbook I made her.  The words people have written to me over the years help tell the story of my life.  Yes, I realize after I die, there is a strong chance they will be thrown away shortly thereafter.  I know they could not possibly mean as much to someone else as they do to me.  But until then, I will continue to cherish each one.

Handwritten letters and snail mail is a dying art.  With e-mail, text messaging, social media, blogs, and all sorts of other ways to communicate, why would anyone ever send a letter anymore?  It is not convenient.  It is not free.  You do not have a record of exactly what you wrote and when you sent it.  There is no spell check.  You cannot change your font, or send the exact same message to multiple people.  You risk getting a hand cramp, your pen running out of ink, your pencil breaking, not being able to find a stamp, or the recipient's current address.  

All that I just mentioned....that is exactly why I love writing letters.   Yes, it costs money to buy a stamp. Yes, it takes time, focus, and some energy to write a letter.  No, it really is not something you can easily multi-task doing.  Yes, it could get lost or returned to you for the wrong address.  But in a subtle way sending someone a letter tells someone they are worth the cost, the time, and the effort.

Although I am a fairly goal oriented and driven person, I do not routinely make New Year's resolutions.  Sometimes I have some ideas in my head about how I would like to change, but rarely am I concrete or do I physically write it down (which my sister says is the first step to actually achieving any goal).  This year, the idea just kind of came to me.  I was reading this post someone had shared on Facebook called something like "18 Things People Should Take Time to Do."  Letter writing was near the top.  People have always associated me with giving cards, sending mail, and as I was informed via letter today "I guess I am doing the Alyssa thing and running out of room so I have to write on the back."  Yes, I am known for writing on the back.  I typically always start to write in a card on the left panel, in anticipation that I will easily fill up the inside, and save the back just in case I need it.  I tend to be wordy, tend to have a lot to say.  Even when I write emails, this tends to be the case.  Probably even more so since I can type pretty fast.  All this to say is that I decided 2014 was the year I would bring back the handwritten letter.

I began on January 1 and have written 13 letters so far.  One letter a day, trying to get it in the mail within a day or two.  Don't fret if you have not received a letter.  There are PLENTY more days in the year and the order of recipients has nothing to do with popularity or the status of our friendship.  I had thought about how I decided who I would write to.  I thought about putting a bunch of names in a jar and picking one out each day.  I thought about just going alphabetically through my address list.  But then I decided I wanted this to be more than just something on my to do list.  I wanted it to be a blessing.  I wanted to use something I enjoy doing and receiving, and be disciplined enough to make it a regular part of my life.  So I decided to leave the recipients up to God.  I just sensed that He would put people on my heart each day, and although I just speak from 13 days of experience, each day I have been certain that I was writing to exactly the right person.

Although I did not resolve to write letters in order to receive a lot more mail, it is a nice bonus.  Today I received a card from a dear friend.  I will leave you with the wisdom she shared.

"May you see a simple and consistent thing like the sun in California and be thankful for it.  And may you have unforeseen endurance in your resolutions."