William Faulkner wrote, in Absalom, Absalom — ” … what conscience to trade with which would have warranted you in the belief that you could have bought immunity … for no other coin but justice?” This reveals to me the greatest failure of the idea of justice — it is incomplete, indelibly so.
Tag: justice
Trial by Media is a Political Weapon
Anyone who has influence and holds a viewpoint that goes against the accepted status quo is now in danger of being tried and convicted by the media’s kangaroo court.
The FBI Is Not Your Friend
One of the unfortunate ironies of the manufactured “Russiagate” controversy is the perception of the FBI as a friend of liberty and justice. But the FBI has never been a friend of liberty and justice. Rather, as James Bovard writes, it “has a long record of both deceit and incompetence.”
Assumption of Risk, Where Art Thou?
One of the major lessons we learn growing up is understanding the concept of risk, that is, the possibility of getting hurt. Different activities have more or less risk as it concerns our physical safety. When we join a gym, our assumption of risk is explicit in the form of a written and signed waiver. This protects the gym from being sued when we injure ourselves. Does this concept have any place in the current discussion on sexual harassment and sexual assault?
Why It Matters Whodunit
On reflection, though, whodunit is tremendously important. Why? Because in our society, the routine reaction to mass murder is to try to punish millions of innocent people. In a just society, mass murderers’ group identity wouldn’t matter.
Consent of the Governed, Revisited
“Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed.” This sounds good, especially if one doesn’t think about it very hard or very long, but the harder and longer one thinks about it, the more problematic it becomes.
Things I’ve Found to be Thankful for in 2017
It’s that time of year, and like most of you I’m planning on a big meal and a lazy afternoon as America celebrates yet another Thanksgiving. Naturally, I’m also thinking back over the previous year and looking for things to be thankful for. I’ve found some. Here are a few that aren’t about family, spiral cut ham and so forth.
Assertions versus Facts
CNN can show us an apple, but it can’t show us Russian election meddling or global warming or people being made safe by gun control. Unlike apples, these are complex things not amenable to depiction.
Impeachment Theater, 2017 Edition
As much as one might like to think of the presidency and Congress as temples to civic virtue or arenas in which issues of great weight are disputed, Washington is in truth a lot more like a “professional wrestling” ring. It’s two gangs of boastful peacocks putting on a tag-team show. Washington’s rivalries may be more real but they’re no more momentous.
Why ‘Innocent Until Proven Guilty’ Matters More than Ever
What we are seeing today is the normalization of a disturbing trend which has been slowly growing over the last couple of decades: The wholesale destruction of lives and careers through rumors, speculation, and salacious gossip spread by a partisan, agenda-driven media machine.