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This is an honor and a treat: making one of the first blog entries on the new AMIGOS website. The topic that I am going to espouse, versus rant, is both simple and complex. It has something to do with why every Volunteer, Parent, Alumni, Donor and Board Member is invested in AMIGOS. The mission of AMIGOS has three components; youth leadership, community impact and cultural understanding. I believe we aspire to an even higher mission of social justice. One of our smart, dedicated Project Staffers asked me: how do you define social justice? This is a big question that I do not ask myself often enough. My response was basically the pursuit of eliminating indiscriminate (or discriminate barriers) which prevent people from being healthy, safe and pursuing their potential. For me that sums up a lot of why I have been dedicated to having a social impact in my career and here at AMIGOS. The AMIGOS experience is an intense one that sheds bright light on the distribution of advantages and disadvantages in the U.S. and Latin America. What inspires me about the potential of AMIGOS is what our Volunteers and Alumni do with that deep intellectual and emotional insight. It can and should be a life shaping, transformational experience that defines one&rsquo;s pursuit of social justice. Kant wrote, &ldquo;We can never, even by the strictest examination, get completely behind the secret springs of action.&rdquo; Kant is not around to defend himself on this blog but I see empirical evidence in our projects this year and in the pursuit of social justice by our over 24,000 Alumni. The AMIGOS experience has both provoked and inspired us to action. We know why we do this, both on a personal and organizational basis. This may not meet Kant&rsquo;s definition of strict examination, but I would welcome a blog response from Immanuel or anyone else on this same journey.</p>