Our trust that
justice will be served grounds us and gives us peace of mind. We’re gratified
when justice reigns, and we’re in danger of disillusionment when it isn’t
served.
But we can’t assume
that justice prevails. An unfortunate person may suffer dire consequences for
simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time in the wrong country with the
wrong color of skin and with the wrong religious beliefs. We are very lucky if
we don’t endure an injustice, from minor to major, at some point in our lives.
Injustice refers to
unfairness or undeserved outcomes and applies to an event, a situation or a
status quo, like the inequality of women before they gained the right to vote.
The notion of
injustice is universal, although the circumstances considered unjust can vary
from culture to culture. We live in a time in
history when injustices are more likely to be made public, and in a country
where freedom of speech and of the press are expected, and for the most part practiced
and protected.
As a result of the
rise of social media, we’re better informed and aware of injustices around the
world. Perhaps this explains (at
least in part) why a recent poll found that only 23 percent of Americans have
confidence in the criminal justice system (The New York Times, Opinion page, print copy, June 23, 2014).
A person who has
experienced an injustice needs time to heal. Depending on the severity of the
abuse, the healing process can last from days to years but is definitely helped
if and when justice is served. If the injustice isn’t satisfactorily resolved,
the healing process may never be complete.
Psychotherapy is
often necessary to cope with the feelings of betrayal and help sort out the
details. Individuals often ask themselves if they have contributed in any way
to the circumstances.
Mr. W. was sexually
molested by a priest when he a child. The tragedy was exacerbated by the fact
that he never told anyone and the abuser died in a time before sexual abuses in
the Catholic Church came to light.
Mr. W. didn’t want to
make his situation public, and he spent years trying to cope with the
psychological damage and his subsequent addiction to drugs.
Human selfishness is
often at the root of the injustice. Clearly the priest who took advantage
of Mr. W.’s innocence didn’t think
about the damage he inflicted.
Flawed human decision-making
also contributes. Decades of academic research suggest that we place too much
confidence in human judgment. For example, the decisions of judges sitting on
review boards depend on the time lapsed between their last food break. Daniel
Kahneman in his 2011 book, Thinking Fast and Slow cites the research that observed that judges
are less likely to reach decisions favorable to plaintiffs when more time has
passed between meals.
To lighten the spirit
of this ponderous topic, I offer an example from the world of the canine. A while ago, I summoned my Schipperke
dog, Woolf, with a treat. When he arrived at my feet (for some perversity of
mood), I didn’t deliver the morsel. Woolf reacted with a snap, a rare display
of disapproval. But I realized his response was indeed “justified.” Without
intending to, I had performed an experiment on a dog and learned that he too
expects justice to prevail--in the form of a treat, promised and earned.
Conclusion: Although
we aspire to the ideal of justice and it behooves us to believe that justice
will be served, we do better to recognize human selfishness and our fallibility
of judgment. Paradoxically, we need to trust and maintain awareness (of the
pitfalls of our human condition).
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