Under the sun, justice lies stretched along the wide sky, reaped by the confused who inquires for more. Dry and shriveled under the sun, yearning in thirst, waiting for a promise to be made.
Over the moon, passion kisses the silver stars of peace and righteousness, touching earth’s calms and storms, saving whispers from being lost and insecure. Passion is more than just a contribution within justice. It’s the feathers wrapped around the body of a bird, protecting its existence; it’s the unleashed spirit of what is righteous; passion is an essential actor to our humanness.
But where is the passion in justice? Many view justice as a harsh demand to peace. People tend to forget that justice is the music that passion plays; that it’s when an individual comes to fairness with themselves and others around them. Or as Plato, one of the greatest philosophers, defines the fruit of passion in justice, it’s “…when a beautiful soul harmonizes with a beautiful form…the man who has the spirit of harmony will be most in love with the loveliest; but he who will not love is of an inharmonious soul.”
So here is Justice in seven words and the passion within.
J: Judicious.
The showing, having, or doing with the right sense or judgment. In any case or scenario, every individual has a different perspective on the outcome. Justice doesn’t have a merit on its own. When justice returns, the individuals are given the power to act judiciously, to respond in their good judgment so that justice is served rightly in which the ends justify the means. A lover of justice has passion in which they will have the ability to identify the truth and the wrong within every circumstance.
“Passion by means the soul’s response to pleasurable and painful feelings… links the mastery of these passions to righteousness and unrighteousness.” Plato.
U: Ubiquitous.
Justice is ubiquitous, it’s everywhere, dancing around in her silky red dress. But it’s knowing how to grab a hold of her and making her spin in the right circles, tearing fears apart. From far and near, all breathes human passion; it’s in us, but it’s learning how to sway along with justice. And because justice is everywhere and there’s an excess of perspectives and views, we need to learn how to tame passion in justice and vice versa.
S: Spiritedness.
The spiritedness in Justice is our passion, under our skin, yearning to merge the theory of art from within an individual’s nature. Our passion is an appeal to the art of Justice. Like the way chess injects a kind of spiritedness, allowing the players to challenge in multiple types of intelligence, the desire for justice also injects a kind of spiritedness that envisages multiple types of justice where passion pushes one’s adrenaline to strive towards the truth, challenging each other.
T: Truth.
Truth in justice is ambiguous, constrained, restricted, and always challenged. I can’t tell you if there will always be truth behind justice. However, I do know that truth is the beacon that shines among the shore of lies. It will eventually find peace with time. Time, patience, allows passion to grow and thrive. Weave reason and passion to seek the full symposium on the nature of truthful and righteous justice:
“The knowledge of the nature of every essence by a sympathetic and kindred power in the soul, and by that power drawing near and mingling and being incorporate with every being, having begotten mind and truth, he will have knowledge and will live and grow truly.” Plato
I: Imbalance.
Passion within justice can be easily corrupted if no one has the passion to understand and acknowledge. And so there is this imbalance of knowledge and truth. Fear keeps individuals away from passion because they are either seen as being too emotional or how the power of intimacy strips away their strength. Fear is the cloak that drapes over our eyes, our mind to exclaim what’s righteous and unrighteous. Justice is always imbalanced.
C: Capricious.
Our human impulse is innate. The impulse to lie or blurt false accusations is a lot easier than admitting the truth which is why justice is capricious where justice is determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason. It’s all a game of rock, paper, scissors -- a game of luck, chance that determines who will win and dominate over the other. Justice can be right in front of your eyes and you will still lie or overt your answer so that maybe justice won’t slap you in the face. Passion is the complement to the tea of justice; it’s just the sweet taste of what justice can be like if one found the balance in harmony through reason than impulse or chance.
E: Elusive.
In the end, justice is elusive, like the creation of the universe and its trailing stars and moons, it is difficult to find or achieve. I’m not saying it’s unattainable; anything is possible. But passion in justice is more than lasciviousness; it is the eternal drive from within one’s soul to find the righteousness in truth, to find justice.
Judicious, ubiquitous, spiritedness, truth, imbalance, capricious, elusive. Justice.
Like coffee and raisins, today’s society is the tragic story of our untamed passion that could have been called justice, and so imagination keeps me going until it’s acceptable to say we have a just society.
