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There is very little justice in the world
Saturday, 4 March 2006
Most people have a very strong sense of justice. We believe we know what's right and wrong.
Something feels imbalanced in the universe when what we consider to be a crime is committed. But nature doesn't appear to agree with these strongly held views. Unfortunately, justice is something that exists only in our heads and we must undertake massive efforts to bring even a little bit of it into being.
From our first moments on Earth, we have a strong sense of what's fair and what's not. Nothing stings quite as much as when we feel we've been wronged. But take a look at the natural world into which humans were first dropped and you'll see that it doesn't care one hoot about justice.
Is it fair that a pack of lions hunts down the slowest and the weakest in a herd of wildebeest? Is it fair that a bird has her eggs stolen by a lizard? Is it fair that baby turtles are picked off by birds as they run down the beach towards the ocean for the first time?
Of course not.
And how about examples closer to home of nature's injustice.
Is it fair that a young husband should drown in the ocean only weeks after his new wife becomes pregnant? Is cancer fair? How about death during childbirth? Is that fair?
Human beings can be incredibly cruel to each other and our fellow creatures. But our crimes are nothing compared to those that nature routinely commits. No other living creature except human being seems to have any sense of, or respect for justice.
And the physical world is worse. An avalanche thinks nothing of crushing a village. Lightning doesn't care that the fire it starts will wipe out an entire forest.
Even in the human world, justice is extremely rare. Despite our supposed deep sense of right and wrong our history is a story of one crime after another. It is filled with sieges, theft, torture, genocide and rape. Many of its greatest heroes - Julius Caesar, Alexander The Great, and Napoleon for example - were ruthless warlords who were responsible for the deaths of thousands.
Everyday life in history was also brutal and unfair. Murders, rapes, and theft were common and went unpunished more often than not. And in much of the world things aren't much better today. The three quarters of people who live in developing countries are used to corruption and bullying by governments, soldiers, criminals and other powerful forces.
How about in the developed world? For all the obsession about themes of justice in the news media, television shows and movies, most crimes in reality go unpunished. Most thefts aren't penalized and many violent incidents receive no attention from the authorities. Even cases that appear before the courts often leave those involved in them frustrated. It is rare that all parties feel fairness was served.
The only conclusion you can reach, by looking with open eyes, is that there is very little justice in the world. It may be something that we all desperately want, but it is also something that is in very short supply.
So what should you take away from this discussion?
The first thing is to understand that life is inherently unfair. For all the lip-service humanity pays to justice, we aren't prepared to do much to implement it. And even if we wanted to, doing so is very expensive in both time and money. Even with those available, we still often get it wrong.
You can't rely on events to treat you fairly, and you should expect that often they won't
Another thing I hope you take away from this is to be someone who plays a small part in changing this situation. There may be little justice, but that doesn't mean there has to be none. Bring some of your own into the world, by struggling to treat others fairly in all dealings where you are the person in power.
Just because others with power are unjust, doesn't mean you have to be.
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