Judge Scott Miller led both an informative and stimulating conversation on justice and what it is like being a judge in the city of Ithaca. As a future lawyer, I took away many lessons from Judge Miller, such as the idea of not labeling all people who commit crimes as criminals, but as people who made a mistake, since wrong actions do not always define a person. However, as interesting as the discussion was, it was Judge Miller’s point about healthcare and education that resonated with me the most.

According to Judge Miller, the United States has two main issues: lack of access to universal healthcare and lack of quality universal education. Once these problems are addressed, Judge Miller stated, the country can begin to repair other issues within our society, such as racism. I agree with Judge Miller’s assessment that universal healthcare and education are some of the largest hurdles our country faces. I also agree with Judge Miller that we as an American society need to put more value on healthcare and education, rather than spending money on expensive wars and incarcerating people. To me, healthcare and education are human rights. Unfortunately, the United States has a great imbalance when it comes to valuing and funding such vital programs, which has created a significant amount of inequality and has negatively impacted the most vulnerable people like minorities and the poor. Judge Miller made a profound point when he stated that many citizens do not argue about spending money on wars and incarcerating people who commit crimes, but get upset when the government wants to fund healthcare or education. I firmly believe that we need to put more money and value into our broken healthcare and educational systems if the United States wants to continue to be a global role model.

Just like Judge Miller, I do not have a solution to fixing our healthcare and educational systems. However, it is up to me and every other person to stand up for these issues, and many more, by pressuring lawmakers to prioritize and act on these important problems. Recognizing a problem is the first step in finding a solution, so it is up to us as humans to create a culture that values healthcare and education, not wars and incarceration.