Everyday Justice: Setting the World Right One Shopping Cart at a Time
by Ken Stuczynski
Paperback, short fiction, 62 pages
ISBN # 978-1-949818-19-2
Review by Christina Francine
A timely book for those dealing with global impact crisis and sprawling political overreach today, and, honestly, for anyone worldwide who needs positive reminders, suggestions, and a way to put things into perspective. It's easy to fall into paralyzed cynicism. Stuczynski provides a reflective guide and aids readers in reclaiming personal agency through the cumulative power of micro-actions. He recommends that readers not wait for perfection and cultivate care for themselves and others.
The book is organized into 3 areas of life and is broken into 10 chapters.
Areas of Life
1. Domestic Sphere
2. Market Places & Public Spaces
3. Sustaining Hope
Chapters
1. Be the Change
2. Begin at Home
3. The Neighborhood
4. On the Road
5. In the Marketplace
6. Community
7. Random Acts of Kindness
8. For the Earth
9. For the Future
10. Be the Light
* There is also an Appendix with “A Primer on Volunteering,” “Food Donation Suggestions,” and “Earth 2 Mouth Program.”
The tone is conversational, and Stuczynski writes with humility and a little humor. He uses shopping carts due to “The Shopping Cart Theory” – A person’s character and their ability to self-govern can be judged by whether or not they return a shopping cart to its designated area.
The book’s strength may also be its weaknesses. The book is short. The approximate 62 pages respect readers’ time but are reflective and don’t give specifics like a deep textbook would; however, the book’s simplicity does allow its message to resonate clearly. The basic message is that if we tend to our corner of the world with care and intention, we begin the slow, necessary job of shifting the culture around us.
For those needing to combat feelings of helplessness and systemic overwhelm with small, practical everyday steps to make positive impacts. Recommended.
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