Sometimes it's easy to overlook the injustice that happens in the world when you only hear about it, and it doesn't happen to you. Sometimes injustice is easy to ignore. We walk past homeless people every day. Sometimes, it is not so hard to ignore. Take the Ottawa shooting for example. My office was in lock-down and it was not so easy to ignore the fact that somebody was roaming around just a few blocks away from me with a gun and the intention to kill.
But why is there injustice, and how do we know if something is unjust?
It seems to be that most humans have similar ideas of what is right and wrong (in general). For example, we know that it is wrong to steal, kill, cheat, and hurt other people. We also know that it is right to give money in exchange for goods and services. But how do we know this? Where did the idea of morals come from?
Perhaps one way to look at this is to first figure out why we are here. What is the purpose of the human being?
Some people believe that humans came into existence due to the fact that certain parameters happened to be in the right place at the right time. Through survival and evolution, we became the creatures we are today. However, this would mean that there is no purpose for our life, and we are here because we just are. That still doesn't explain justice - is it a survival mechanism? How does "survival of the fittest" play in if we help people who are hurt? Maybe the people doing the hurting are just trying to stay on top of the game and be the one who "wins" the game of life. Why do we have morals? Did we develop them so that the ones we love will be able to survive even if they are not the fittest? If we came from nowhere and have no purpose, then life has no purpose, and neither does death. Justice is therefore irrelevant, and love is just for selfish gain and procreation.
Other people believe that humans came into existence at the will of a creator. Somebody wanted humans to exist, so they made humans. The purpose would be as simple as the fact that someone wanted us here, or there may be something more complicated involving that person wanting us here. Then through survival and evolution, we have adapted to the world we live in and became who we are now. Injustice still occurs (for numerous reasons), but it is different this time because somebody made us so that we can recognize injustice. Why? Why would a creator give us ideas of what justice looks like? Well if I made something, then I probably care about it and want good things for it. In the same way, it is likely that the creator of human beings cares about us and wants us to know that there is right and wrong way to treat other humans.
But there is so much injustice going on, and it seems like we can't stop it. So people hope for change. People hope for justice. Hope is defined by dictionary.com as being, "the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best", or as a verb, "to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence".
In both of these definitions, it is implied that there is a high likelihood for whatever you hope for to happen. Over the centuries we have tried to bring justices ourselves, but still there are wrongdoings happening in the world - it seems like the best we can do is to stop a situation from getting worse. In the scenario where humans have no purpose, justice for all will never happen because nothing exists that can bring justice. Hope only has meaning when someone who can do something to bring an end to all injustice exists. In the case where people were created for a purpose, then hope can logically exist because a creator that cares will do something if its creation is suffering.
So is there hope? In our society of believing what is "true for you" then the answer is maybe.
As for me, I choose to believe in the second scenario where there is hope and a creator that can fulfill my hope for justice. However, I also believe that justice is not necessarily beneficial to everyone. This is because justice means that every wrong thing I have ever done will come to light and I will be judged for it - and everyone has done something wrong. We will have no choice but to agree that we are guilty and receive our punishment. So why hope for justice if all will be punished?
If we were created for a purpose and the creator cares about us, it is logical that our creator would not want to punish us, and would find a way to save us from punishment without being unjust. So the creator punished Jesus (who did no wrong) in our place so that justice is still observed, and we can be saved by accepting that he died on our behalf. This is why I hope for justice, and with it, accept that somebody loves me enough to die for all the wrong things I have done.
