On Justice

Justice is blind! Do you want to hear another joke? It should be, but let's take a look at justice.

From the American Heritage Dictionary:

"The upholding of what is just, especially fair treatment and due reward in accordance with honor, standards, or law." 

What then is "just"?

 "Rendering or disposed to render to each one his due; equitable; fair; impartial..."

Justice is "fair treatment".  It's impartial judgment. We see in our mind's eye the scale of justice. Lady Justice is blindfolded and the scales are level. That's what it should be! That's how U.S. Law is supposed to be. Our laws are based on "Natural Law".

The Oxford Companion to the U.S. Supreme Court says:

"Natural Law is a philosophic doctrine holding that there is a certain order in nature that provides norms for human conduct."

"Natural Law" in the United States is based on "God's Laws". The source goes on to say:

"This doctrine received its most renowned form in St. Thomas Aquinas's “Treatise on Law,” a part of his Summa Theologiae. For Aquinas, natural law was humanity's “participation” in the comprehensive eternal law."

Righteousness is God's Laws! It's right living. It's obedience to God's will. It's love!

Proverbs 20:23 "Unequal weights are an abomination to the Lord, and false scales are not good."

I'm biased! I admit it. At the news of George Zimmerman killing the youngster Travon Martin, my bias kicked in. "This big bully playing cop killed a youngster!" However, with time, I looked at the facts objectively and saw that the entire situation had been distorted by those who have their own bias.

With Michael Brown's death, I had the Martin killing in mind. I thought "Here we go again!" The people and the media have put a biased slant on the facts. I immediately sided with Officer Darren Wilson. I admit it. My scales were out-of-balance, but so are the scales of all those who're marching in protest and speaking words of idiocy on every news channel! It doesn't matter what a person's bias is, we should all be astounded at the bias of those interviewed on news programs. Gov. Nixon seems to have been the "biggest idiot" of them all because he had legal training and sixteen years experience! He should be an embarrassment to all fair-minded people. However, if I was there, I would display some degree of my bias as well!

It's unfair to all if one assumes judgment before judgment is administered! The large percentage of the blacks interviewed have a strong bias! Their bias is strictly emotional with little critical thinking based on facts. Some blacks have taken a fair stance. They should be commended because they have set ethnocentrism aside and seek justice. This is not to say that they don't want the guilty punished, but they want even the guilty, if they are, to have a fair chance.

Much of the bias comes from preachers, reverends and other spiritual leaders. Their positions are purely emotional. That's their job to be emotional, but it should be righteous. It must be from scripture, otherwise the spokesman has a credibility problem. "Unequal weights are an abomination to to the Lord." They've read this and they know all the other supporting scripture. God states with authority that bias in administering justice is disgusting! Who are the "Reverend" Al Sharpton and like-minded to put aside "Natural Law" and assume the authority of God? Who made them judge? Who made them God?

Leviticus 19:15 “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor."

If I was to be a juror, being obedient, I would make every attempt to put my bias aside! That's what I would have to do for the sake of justice. My desire would be to show the same fairness to another which God has the grace to judge me fairly.

Luke 6:36 (ESV) "Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. 37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

It's pretty clear! We are to be merciful, to not harshly judge, and use the same measure for another which we would want used if we were in the same position. "Reverend" Al Sharpton doesn't do that! He shows no sense of fairness and I believe him to be narcissistic and himself a racist!

He should put his cards on the table. He should admit his bias. I will; will he? My bias's are:

• God's word comes first
• Everything we do must be done to God's Law.
• We must all show love and mercy.
• We're to love even those who we consider our enemies.

These are all "good" or righteous bias's. They're not mine. They are what I believe, not because that's my nature, but because I desire to please God!

Here are some of my negative bias's:

• Blacks have a stronger bond to support each other because of their history. They ignore disobedience in members of their race because life has been perceived as unfair.
• I believe that black culture breeds drug usage, crime and hate. Rather than working through love, many use violence to achieve acceptance. Many ignore the non-violent teachings of Martin King.
• Motivation in black inner city families is low. I believe that to be due to the lack of a full family structure consisting of mother and father. I don't believe that has anything to do with mistreatment by other races, but are personal choices, albeit wrong choices.
• Rabble-rousers such as Al Sharpton have a history of stirring up racial animosity. His is a message of hate. There are many like him in the civil rights movement.
• That drugs are the main driver of illegal activity and there are many reasons for drug usage; most of them are for self-gratification. (Get rid of drugs and crime goes down. Get rid of drugs and we need fewer cops!)
• That Jesus is not "real" in the inner city. Yes, people claim him, but few follow him. There is probably no research on that, but that's my perception. That's my bias!

Although, it pleases me when things take the course toward my own bias, I must ignore what I want and think of what the will of God is! God's clear. He wants justice. He wants fairness. It wasn't fair that Jesus died for me because he was innocent. Jesus was a scapegoat, but we don't need a cop to be a scapegoat for the unruly!

I've witnessed police brutality. I saw a cop beat my own son and stand on him for only asking his name! Police brutality exists, but because it exists is no reason to assume that every white kid killed by a cop deserved it, but every black kid killed by a white cop doesn't! That's irrational. That's stupid emotional thinking. If there is any true evidence that this policeman is guilty of brutality, justice (and God) insists that he be punished! However, the system has already shown a bias and any act of "justice" is now a lynching! Darren Wilson cannot get fair treatment now. It will be next to impossible. He may be indicted just because so many wish it. He may be convicted just because he was doing his job.

To be fair it would be wise for the grand jury to say: "There can be no trial because the system is already biased toward guilt!" It's too late for a fair trial, with an idiot governor ranting and the injustice within the Department of Justice which have shown themselves to be above the law in other cases. 

What can we do? Rioting like a lynch mob is not the way to justice.Blacks have been lynched because of this same mentality. When will they learn? We can pray for justice; not for prosecution, because praying for prosecution is disgusting to God! We can pray also for Michael's family and friends in their pain. Yes, even those of us whose children rebel; we are still to love them. We can pray that the likes of Al Sharpton not stir up hate. We can pray that he behave as if he's "saved" if he truly is! We can pray for fairness. Prayer changes things!