3. Justice Divided

Fear and division; justice is coming. Really? What is Justice?

Speaking of fear and division, I highly suggest you listen to my podcast From My Standpoint, Episode 046: The Great Wisdom of… #3 (FEAR) and Episode 002: Focused or Blinded (who is the enemy?).

And yet, I, like most people, still look at social media. It’s like our nature is drawn to conflict.

Anyway, over the last few years (the draft for this topic was originally written in 2020/2021), I have noticed that many posts on social media were trying to point toward this concept of justice; yet, when viewed more objectively and critically, most of those posts seemed to veer themselves toward negativity and hate—full of anger and divisiveness.

Listen to From My Standpoint podcast Episode 021: The Human Breakdown (of 2020) to hear more on people and social media veering toward hate and negativity and how we have been allowing our biases, feelings, and emotions to control our thinking.

I have read many posts about justice, what it is, how to apply it, and even of asking where it went. I've read of people's cries for justice. Then I have read posts about people's cries for justice for one person, regardless of the facts, circumstances, or truth. I have read posts about people's cries for justice for groups of people (ethnicities, political, and pretend).

Man, there are so many examples we could use from politics over the years, but I won’t bore you with all that.

Isn't it interesting, though, how we claim to want justice but only if it fits our personal opinion and benefits our personal feelings or emotions? And how if it involves us or someone we love, then we want grace, not justice?

What's interesting about this concept of justice as well is how people will judge you, even though many also claim that you shouldn't judge based on your perceived level of activity in a cause that they themselves support, whether they are active in it or not is another story, though. And this level of activity is only judged on the outward appearance of what that person judging you has and can see. And if you don't meet their observed and perceived level of activity, then you are, to them at least, part of the problem and often an enemy. We all judge; we all make judgments on ourselves and others every single day, but it’s advised to be careful how you judge and when you judge. As the saying goes, “There’s a time and a place for everything.” We are to use wisdom and discernment between the more correct judging and the negative judging between good and evil.

Not shockingly, though, I have even read and heard those who have so boldly proclaimed that if they do not perceive you as doing enough or being in support of their idea of justice, then you should get out of this country (the USA). This should be a shocker, but unfortunately, when values and standards and morals are in constant evolution, then we cannot have one true ideal for "justice." Justice would be whatever "truth" the individual feels Justice is in that moment.

Sadly, too, with this ever-fluctuating foundation from which to derive any truth or true idea of justice, I've also read and heard many people state, even throughout history, that, you guessed it, if they do not perceive you as doing enough or being in support of their idea of justice, then your life does not matter—your life holds no value.

I’ve even had family and friends—well, they really weren’t friends, not if they acted this way, so I guess I’d say acquaintances—slander, hate, attack, threaten, and treat with no value, as if only one type of life matters, when not viewed as supporting their perceived idea of justice, regardless of truth.

You know, this is a side trail, but I still shake my head at the fact that I even had friends defriend me for posting a scripture from the Bible before. One scripture sent so many people ablaze, slandering me, befriending me, even threatening me.

Anyway.

As I say in my book Volume II: Your Foundation In Action, “Each person is unique in the combination of their experiences, understanding, learning, work ethic, attitude, and character. These differences, and the uniqueness of each, not only offer a different benefit but are also both beneficial and unfavorable, depending on whom we ask.”

Here's an important question: Is someone truly of no value because they choose to kneel before their perceived concept of justice, right or wrong? Is someone truly of no value because they do not choose to kneel before your perceived concept of justice, right or wrong?

What about if, at some time, you choose not to kneel before their perceived concept of justice? Does that then deem you as having no value, that your life does not matter?

If that were the case, then we would all be guilty of such, and in such thinking, no life would ever truly matter.

Justice? Grace?

Along this line of thinking, I've had friends defriend me and family slander and break away because I refused to close the book on truth, shut down the factory of cognitive and critical thought, denounce how God made me, and kneel before their perceived concept of justice—their political, social, or any other definition thereof.

That brings me back to the question at the beginning: would you prefer true justice be dealt all the time or that grace be sprinkled in from time to time?

This, however, brings up an additional question now: what is true justice?

Would you prefer true justice be dealt all the time or that grace be sprinkled in from time to time?

This, however, brings up an additional question now: what is true justice?

One thing we know for sure is that everyone wants Justice.

Justice.

Everyone wants it. Everyone says they fight for it. Everyone says they support it. Everyone agrees that justice should be served for and to all. But the issue, as I see it, is that we do not agree on what justice really is, nor do we seem to care a lot of the time.

Brief recap: there is justice and grace. Justice is getting what you deserve. Would you really like to get every little thing you deserve?

Sure, we all have some similar ideas on which we can find some common ground. We like to say that justice is what is good, what is right, what is moral; that justice is holding the guilty accountable; that justice is someone getting what we think they deserve for an action or word or behavior they enacted; that justice is what could help make those involved feel emotionally better and bring some satisfaction of revenge or closure to the family or friends of the labeled victim.

But, again, with differing foundations that produce differing standards and ideas of what is moral, ethical, right, and wrong, what is guilty?

And as for what justice is, I ask, what is your foundation? If you want to know more about what I mean by this, then read my book when it is published: Volume I: The Foundation To Your Success.

What does this have to do with justice, you might be asking?

Well, your foundation will greatly affect what this concept of justice means to you, as well as what is good, right, ethical, and moral. The foundation you choose for your life will also be the ground from which your standards and values will be grounded.

Read my book, Volume II: Your Foundation in Action, as well… when it is published, to get some ideas of your chosen foundation in action.

That's a lot of philosophy and a long introduction. How about we get into what justice is then?

Well, only you can answer that.