JUSTICE – Part 2 13 July 2017 304 words
Two poems. The first one I wrote in the 70s:
Counting the cost
those who wave the banners
of liberty and justice
desperately scream
just us!
The second one comes from the 19th century Brit, Charles Bowen:
The rain it raineth on the just
And also on the unjust fella;
But chiefly on the just, because
The unjust steals the just’s umbrella.
Justice is a relationship word. It has no meaning apart from the interaction of two or more individuals. Kissing-cousin words are: fairness; impartiality; equitableness; rightness. The concept of justice in human relationships presumes, in the words of U.S. Declaration of Independence, that all people are created equal. Meaning, that all are of equal value and worth . . . all have, by virtue of being, a right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.
It is not life – at least not one anyone wishes to live – if one does not have nutrition adequate for bodily health.
It is not liberty if one is imprisoned by a severely life-inhibiting disease and has no access to adequate healthcare.
It is quite difficult to pursue happiness when, as a single parent, one is working two or more minimum wage jobs just to house and feed one’s two children . . . and falling short financially month by month.
“Just us!” is not an attitude that leads to justice for all. Stealing umbrella’s simply because one has the power to do so and not caring if the other sucker catches pneumonia and expires is diametrically opposed to the democratic concept of justice.
One of the four classical Greek cardinal virtues is justice. Throughout history, even to our present day, the uber-rich and powerful have seemed to lose sight of this. When this is the case, the people who know what justice is need to work for its restoration.
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