Is Justice Perfect

"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

In class we are reading Plato’s Republic and discussing justice and the controversy behind it. We were all having a discussion about what is just and I thought, is justice perfect?

First I want to point out that Justice is what all of us strive for. It was why the United States was formed and that is why so many groups are still reaching for justice and equality such as Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights movement back in the sixties. But they might be reaching for the wrong thing. Dictionary.com states that justice is the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness. But who has the right to be able to call themselves just? Not judges because they can still be biased and influenced. One person pointed out that criminals are the best judges because they see both sides. I disagree with that because I think that that judge is biased because he also did that crime and might take pity on the person who committed the crime. The only real judge is the big one in the sky.

In Plato’s Republic, Socrates states that Justice is in the interest of the stronger. He changes his definition in the chapter but this is a very bad definition in my opinion. I think that the reason that the justice figure is blind is because she has no interests of any one party. But I think rather than having the interests of the stronger, justice has the interests of the many. Because who are activist groups really fighting anyway? The government? The people? The stigma surrounding them? All three? Justice is always blind but can be influenced by popular belief to change what is right.

To conclude, justice is fair and unwavering but can be influenced by popular belief. There is no one just enough to judge anyone but until divine intervention comes along, the justice system now will have to do.