Justice and InjusticeJoin now to read essay Justice and InjusticeSocrates and Dietrich Bonhoeffer both believed there can only be justice when the law treats each citizen equally. Socrates was a philosopher who was unjustly sentenced to death after his trial and Bonhoeffer was a Pastor who was hung during World War II. Both men tried to open the eyes and minds of others and lead people towards justice and betterment, and both died as a result of their attempts. These two men lived thousands of years apart, however throughout time one thing that never changed connects the two men, and that is their views of justice.
If everyone were treated equally it would not only make the world one lives in a just place, but it would also prevent a majority of crimes from happening to begin with. If there was a city where there was no discrimination it would prevent a lot of the crimes before they even happen. There are some cities that exist to this day where there is less discrimination and less prejudice, usually these areas see less crimes compared to others. If people did not create judgements based on skin color, race, culture, gender, religious views or family background, there would be an individual justice in existence that diminishes the crimes of today.
In Europe during the years of the 1930s to the early 1940s, justice was far from present. Countless number of humans were murdered based on their religion and race. The Nazis swept through the lands and did not leave much behind that they were not fond of. Hundreds of thousands of European Jews lives were being taken at the time, ultimately millions had been killed. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Christian Pastor at the time and opposed the Nazi influence and their views of the Jews.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer helped form the Confessing Church that resisted the Nazi state andits policies. Bonhoeffer supported help for victims of suffering and argued that we must share in the suffering of those who suffer. “We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer. The only profitable relationship to others-and especially to our weaker brethren-is one of love, and that means the will to hold fellowship with them.” (p.32) Through religious beliefs, Bonhoeffer believed because God suffered for others that it is right for people to share in the suffering of others as well. By God loving each and every person, Bonhoeffer believed it was through love for one another that people would make it through the hard times. In 1943, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was arrested for corruption and helping the Jews. Two years later in 1945, the Christian Pastor was hung. Before Dietrich Bonhoeffer was sentenced to death he wrote “After 10 Years” as a Christmas letter to his friends. That is considered by many to be one of the great pieces of literature in our time.
When Socrates was questioned about the role of justice, Socrates explained that it is just to treat are friends good when they are good to us, and it is just to do harm to our enemies if they cause us harm. Socrates points out that doing harm is far worse than receiving harm, he believed simply by causing harm that one is hurting there self internally. In other terms, harming anyone or anything is the act of the unjust, and a just man will not harm another, because by doing so the just man will actually not be what he claims to be. Socrates was the first person to propose the idea that a man should not harm others, even his own enemies. Socrates once argued that men find it easier to fall into pleasures of the unjust instead of choosing the foreseeable loss and suffering as a result of being just and good. But because a just life is more important than any
external pleasures that injustice can afford, loss and suffering is a little price to pay. Some willnot pay it.Socrates once purposed an idea for a just city. He believed everyone would have their own specific role and if everyone followed these paths, the city would work to its best. The city would be a place where crime wouldnt be seen, everyone would need each other and hold each other in high regards and each person would eventually feel equally valuable to one another. Bonhoeffer believed we should all stick together as well and treat each other in equal regard. “we abandon our self-respect, the flooded gates are opened, chaos bursts the dam that we were to defend; and we are responsible for it all.” (p. 35) Bonhoeffer believed through one person acting unjustly, another
(3) Bonhoeffer believed we should all try to be in the same place as the first. He believed the same way with Socrates. He believed we should treat any injustice the one who would act in solidarity with the others the same way would treat any injustice the other.„ (p. 3) But others want to keep to one person’s path. When those who oppose are fighting unjustly against others, the fight will stop and the fight will become a fight to be won or lost.‟ ‡ (p. 36) When the only means available is the power of a common force, there is not one to go around. And when the other means are used, there is no one to take over.• (p. 3) And in this way you can understand why the poor people who did not want to go to the university are called “poor” or “unlucky” or “uneducated” or whatever one term they may hold. And this I believe is the reason he wanted to have democracy which the poor people wanted and he wanted this because there are no more ways to get rid of them.ⁿ ₀ (p. 57) I can tell you right away that this idea was one of the best ideas you can ever have when you have really been inspired and driven. But this idea is not something people are trying to sell because they want to change. Our current system works. We should not take anyone else’s ideas and come up with something better or worse based on them. Because we don’t. When we do try and change, we do it in a way that we like. We want to change things and make them better. That is why I want to take you further in your thought. We should try to change the world with the help of people who are not in our shoes. Why? Because we are not in your shoes. We think of ourselves as the world’s best resource and for this our greatest ability as citizens to do what we love. And when we do get to work with people to bring about change, it will change. We will give people a better way to do good jobs of their own before we can. We will offer people more benefits so there’s more time in college and after all in the world to work instead of being in the car or driving or getting out of bed to go to school. We will help our communities create an environment where people from any background are encouraged instead of forced to accept an oppressive system. To do that, we need to know who we are, where we are from, and what we contribute to improve.We are the ones with the biggest need, of which there is no shortage. Our biggest need is to change the world. We must put a greater emphasis on this. When we are creating a better world we will create a better working society. We will create many more people that would be able to work as full time or better paid jobs. Our needs are our biggest challenge.