|
|
||||||||||||||||
|
Global Consciousness III The Sense of Justice Adapted
from the book World
Diplomacy by Richard Sidy The sense of justice is the sense of balance, equilibrium, harmony. It exists in the state of nature when all is able to grow and be sustained in a healthy, progressive and mutually supportive way. Crime may be defined as a force which upsets the balance and disturbs the equilibrium. This can be seen as wasteful, greedy, unhealthy, destructive behavior physically, environmentally, socially, or politically. Laws have been created in order to preserve harmony within the context of individual freedom, but laws have also been used to insure the power of one group over other groups. The sense of justice, however, is beyond the existence of man-made laws. Rather, it is a sense which instinctively produces right action for the benefit of all. When one has the sense of justice one acts free of fear, hatred and selfishness. Fear, hatred and selfishness are the causes of most unjust behavior even if such behavior is considered "lawful" or "justified" by official or popular opinion. To have the sense of justice one must be free and selfless, that is, make choices and decisions free of conditioning factors which place one's personal interests or beliefs against those of the greater good. This kind of psychological freedom is difficult to achieve. In our judicial system this state is symbolized in the image of a blindfolded justice holding a scale in balance, and is characterized by the goal of impartiality in judges and juries. The sense of justice ought to govern human relationships with the world. Right relationships are the essence of justice, and the evidence of an expansion of consciousness from selfish interests to global interests. Many of the crises and conflicts in the world personal, economic, social, political, and environmental are the result of wrong relationships motivated by selfishness. It is a crime against nature and against future generations to leave debts. Debts are evidence of a life lived unjustly and out of balance. They indicate that one has lived in wrong relationship to others, to other nations, to the environment, and to the laws of economy. Global consciousness, tempered by the sense of justice would never allow one to leave debts. On the contrary, justice requires paying off even those debts created by others. When a debt is paid, balance and equilibrium are restored. Debt does not just mean financial injustice. We also create emotional, mental, social, and environmental debts through anger, hatred, jealousy, greed, exploitation, and pollution. These, too, cause great imbalance in the life of our planet. Thus, the sense of justice is a motivating force which causes people of good will to seek to restore balance in the world and to promote fair and healthy relationships amongst all who share our planet. It is the responsibility of political leaders to demonstrate the sense of justice through policies which are impartial, eliminate debts and promote the common good. © 2004 Richard Sidy <<Global
Consciousness I: The Sense of Economy
|