Working Toward Justice

I have been working toward justice for as long as I can remember.

I was raised with a clear, strong understanding that justice was about right and wrong. One side was right, the other was wrong. The argument was about proving which was which.

I believed in criminal justice, that people who did bad things should pay for what they had done. I believed in social justice, that those of us who could should help those who needed help. I believed that justice was essential. Few sentences struck closer to my heart than, “That is not fair.”

I knew that my life would be spent working toward justice.

I went to school for a long time and practiced law as a criminal prosecutor. I became part of the justice system and had a front row seat to see how it works. I argued cases in court, and learned how justice works. I began asking myself some serious questions about how I was working toward justice.

I came to appreciate that each of us has our own understanding of justice. We tend to think of justice as something that is imposed on people, from the top down. I began to wonder whether it could be helpful to listen to more of those different points of view.

It dawned on me that justice had more to do with listening than with arguing. I started learning to listen; how not to cross-examine people. The people whose stories I heard shaped my passion for justice.

Now I listen to people and help them work toward their own justice. Sometimes that means paying for what they have done or helping people who need help.

I still believe that justice is essential.

Where do you find justice?

How are you working toward justice?

Whose stories have shaped your understanding of the value of justice?

[Image by WoodyH1]