Justice

The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.

I believe that there is a distinct difference between law and justice. Periodically they intersect, but more often they stand in contrast to each other, and in that contrast they reveal their true natures.

The law is a deeply human institution. It has our fingerprints all over it. Too often the law contains the flaws and biases of its creators. It is prone to being shortsighted, convenient, and self-serving. The law, at its best, aspires for justice, but is easily manipulated to material ends.

Justice, however, is immutable. We know when we have tapped into the vein of true justice because it registers in our hearts and and in our souls. There is no room for argument in the light of true justice, no way to bend it to serve the individual. Justice is self-evident and clear.

Unfortunately, as a species we can be a petty, self-serving, and deeply biased group (sometimes to a frighteningly violent degree). We have a bad habit of warping even the best of our laws to meet myopic, selfish ends. The fight for justice is hard work and we have a bad habit of abandoning hard work midstream. History reveals us at our worst, in the moments when we utterly betray the ideal and devise laws that obfuscate (or intentionally mock) the essential nature of justice.

This isn’t a wholesale indictment on people. I know myself, and I know how easy it can be to lose sight of the ball when we are trying to muddle through and do our best to deal with the billion pressures and stresses that come at as on a day-to-day basis. I am as guilty as anyone of offloading, assuming, and letting my privilege cloud the fact that the laws we have are a long, long way from being in accordance with the justice that would truly lift every person in this country (and on this planet) to an equal standing.

I will always be sympathetic to the human struggle, and hold a deep empathy for my fellow travelers (whether I agree with you or not), because, ultimately, I hope and sense that there is a deep desire in our collective spirit to aspire and achieve something like true justice. Our shared history (and contemporary struggles) may argue otherwise but I remain hopeful that, because we are capable of sensing justice, we might have some hope of achieving it.