| An earlier diary of mine spoke to justice in the United States today. This writing continues the line of thinking as my mind continues to ponder and to clarify the ideas. Follow over the fold for more of the possum's philosophy of life.
Douglass' words tell me justice is all about a level playing field upon which all members of society are treated in a fair and equal manner. In this circumstance all have an opportunity to earn enough money to support a family. The living wage proposition is embedded in my interpretation of Douglass' words. Then poverty would be eliminated. There would be no division of peoples into classes according to major discrepancies in income. There would still be the rich and the poor, but abject poverty that drives people from home and sustenance would be eliminated.
Douglass also addresses education in a meaningful way. We as a nation must allow all our children full and equal access to education if we are to survive the trials of the 21st Century. We must begin to invest money and energy into our educational system. The infrastructure needs serious attention. Teachers need support from both the government and from society as a whole. Every person in the nation has a vested interest in the education of our children for they are the leaders of our future. Without proper education our future may fall into the purview of ignorance and superstition. We cannot afford a course of that sort ever if we are to survive as a nation.
Douglass addresses the idea of a divided society in terms of class. Some nations around the world have such divisions based on birthright or religion. No nation can expect to survive forever in such a situation. All divisions that pit one person against another in class struggles based upon money or privilege need to be put to an end. We humans are all of one kind. We must work together in the best ways we are able to find in order to better our tomorrows.
Justice may best be defined within each person as an individual. Justice is a comfortable feeling of doing what is right both for one's self and for others with whom one interacts. In olden days justice was defined as an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth I propose we leave that definition behind and look more to principles of fairness and equality.
I am one of the blessed in this nation today. My life has been successful beyond any dreams that ever came my way. I have along the way faced our justice system in a legal hearing one time but in no other ways. I am allowed to live in relative peace without the pressures of poverty or housing restriction. My family is well fed. We do not suffer food insecurity as our administration wishes to frame hunger these days. Justice in my household is all about treating one another and those around us the way we wish to be treated every minute of every day of our lives.
Justice should be about seeing to the needs of others. Justice is reaching out a hand to those in need. Justice is seeing those people sleeping under a bridge find a warm shelter. Justice works to see every person in this great nation has shelter at night and those who wish to do so may have a chance to own affordable housing in a safe and comfortable neighborhood. Justice works to punish those guilty of behaving in ways that damage the rights of others. Justice is blind to sex or color of skin. Justice is for one and all human beings without restriction.
Let us all work today and every day to bring justice to our nation. Our Founding Fathers saw the light and built a country of the people, by the people, and for the people. We today have the responsibility of carrying forward that message with liberty and justice for one and all. We have not one minute to lose. Only by our actions may we hope to see justice restored and maintained. Those who fail to work for a just world stand to lose the most precious of all human commodities.
An extension of the current thinking has to do with proper leadership to accomplish the goal of bringing justice to the world. That is a more complex subject requiring time and space of its own one day. Much of justice is all about accountability, another subject deserving a discussion of its own. There is much in this world today about which to reflect in questioning and in refining one's thinking. |
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