J ... is for Justice
Observations of justice in this world begin when we are children.
We observe whether or not justice is done in the home, then we observe whether justice is done in the school. Then if we have not turned into cynics, we observe whether justice is done in the workplace, in our relationships, and generally in our world.
What we observe as children sets us up for what to expect during our lives. If we observe people acting with integrity and fairness, we learn to develop a sense of trust in the world and we learn to develop a sense of justice. We develop integrity and fairness ourselves as we learn by example.
As children, if we perceive there to be justice in the world it fills us with a sense of safety, we know what to expect. If there is no justice and the rules keep changing, we develop feelings of insecurity and fear, we don't know how to deal with the world, and we are hard pressed to develop faith in ourselves.
The same rules must apply to all people. Favoritism shown to people because of race, religion, physical attributes or wealth undermines us all. When traffic tickets get 'fixed', taxes are cheated on, and special interest groups are favored in elections, these actions undermine us all.
Those of us who come into contact with children should be especially vigilant in displaying just behavior. Children develop their sense of justice by what they observe and if we are to have future generations who give their best to the world, we must show them that the world is a fair place in which to live.
We want to foster a sense of hope in our children rather than a sense of hopelessness. We want to allow our children to know that what they feel is important and that the things that they do make a difference.,
By behaving in a just manner we develop that sense of hope in ourselves as well.
