11- Justice
There's American justice, and then there's God's justice
There are many types of justice. In America, when most people think of justice, we think in terms of punishment for wrongdoing, whether it’s paying a fine, serving jail time, or even capital punishment. This is called retributive justice, because it is essentially retribution against the wrongdoer. It’s what the ancients called an eye for an eye.
A more elegant form of justice is restorative justice. This justice seeks to restore a right relationship between two parties. The end result of restorative justice is harmony between the wrongdoer and the wronged.
That’s a lot of technical mumbo-jumbo, dude. How about an illustration?
Fine! I thought you’d never ask!
Little Johnny steals a candy bar from a store and is discovered by his mother when they get home. How should his mom handle this?
Get a belt and tan his hide. Spare the rod, spoil the child, is what the Good Book says.
Take him back to the store and make him tell the shopkeeper what he did, and offer to work sweeping the floor to pay for the candy.
The first is an example of retributive justice. It is punishment for his crime of theft. This is what I grew up with. I probably got my hide tanned 200 or more times. Today I can’t tell you what more than two or three of them were for, and of the ones I remember, none of them deserved a beating. I remember how demeaning and unfair they felt, and how they made me resolve to never treat my children with that kind of injustice. Little Johnny knows he was guilty, so he may or may not harbor resentment towards his mom for the punishment. But perhaps there is a better way.
In the second example, Little Johnny’s mom drove him back to the store and made him tell the shopkeeper about the stolen candy. The shopkeeper is understandably upset. At this point he has three choices.
Call the cops and let them scare him straight.
Forget it. It’s only a candy bar.
Work out a way to serve justice while simultaneously restoring honor.
Fortunately the shopkeeper is also a parent, and decides on Option C. He charges Little Johnny one hour’s work sweeping the floors and taking out the trash. At the end of the hour, he thanks Johnny for the service, and invites him to come once a week to work for an hour and collect another candy bar. In time the two become friends, and Johnny eventually becomes his apprentice.
Isn’t this a much happier ending to the story?
Restorative justice is ALWAYS a better way than retributive justice. Every creature brings forth after its own kind. Violence begets violence, and studies have consistently shown that corporal punishment produces adults who are more likely to engage in domestic violence and child abuse. On the other hand, love and compassion also bring forth after their own kind.
I think we could use a little more of that love and compassion today.