Peace And/Or Justice

Peace and justice are big buzz words these days. Nothing feels better than saying, "I'm for peace and justice." I suppose that peace is something that we can all contribute to pretty easily. When it comes to justice we usually think of trying to stick up for someone who is being unjustly treated and call it a day.

But justice and peace don't always go together very easily. Sometimes you have to forgo one to get the other. A popular word of advice leaders hear is that you will have to apologize for things that you didn't do. It may not be just but it is just the way it works.

Of course, there is a danger in that. By allowing someone to "get away" with something you may be encouraging unhealthy behavior. You also may not be as good at letting an injustice against you slide of your back as you think you are. That can cause you difficulties as you deal with your own emotions down the road.

I was in Sierra Leone during the rebel war in the early 1990's. I followed the events after I returned to the USA to see how the conflict would be resolved. In the end the rebels wanted to negotiate with the government. That was difficult for the government because the rebels wanted amnesty for some incredibly barbaric acts as well as money to start a new life. Meanwhile, many of the victims of the rebels, innocent civilians who had their limbs hacked off, bodies mutilated, and were often raped, live in squalid camps to this day. I also know people who were young children at the time. Today they live next door to the former rebels who brutally killed their parents. There will be no justice and that has been an incredibly bitter pill to swallow. There is also fear that simmering beneath the surface of a society seemingly at peace is the idea that if I am violent enough I can get what I want and get away with it all in the name of peace.

All that to say that peace and justice can be difficult bedfellows. I think the key is maturity. It takes a willingness to address each issue on its own merits and not simply have one of those overriding policies we seem to be so fond of. It can be tough negotiating but that is the only path for a responsible, mature person.