Justice and Injustice

Socrates and Dietrich Bonhoeffer both believed there can only be justice when the law treats each citizen equally. Socrates was a philosopher who was unjustly sentenced to death after his trial and Bonhoeffer was a Pastor who was hung during World War II. Both men tried to open the eyes and minds of others and lead people towards justice and betterment, and both died as a result of their attempts. These two men lived thousands of years apart, however throughout time one thing that never changed connects the two men, and that is their views of justice.

If everyone were treated equally it would not only make the world one lives in a just place, but it would also prevent a majority of crimes from happening to begin with. If there was a city where there was no discrimination it would prevent a lot of the crimes before they even happen. There are some cities that exist to this day where there is less discrimination and less prejudice, usually these areas see less crimes compared to others. If people did not create judgements based on skin color, race, culture, gender, religious views or family background, there would be an individual justice in existence that diminishes the crimes of today.

In Europe during the years of the 1930's to the early 1940's, justice was far from present. Countless number of humans were murdered based on their religion and race. The Nazis swept through the lands and did not leave much behind that they were not fond of. Hundreds of thousands of European Jew's lives were being taken at the time, ultimately millions had been killed. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Christian Pastor at the time and opposed the Nazi influence and their views of the Jews.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer helped form the Confessing Church that resisted the Nazi state and

its policies. Bonhoeffer supported help for victims of suffering and argued that we must share in the suffering of those who suffer. "We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer. The only profitable relationship to others-and especially to our weaker brethren-is one of love, and that means the will to hold fellowship with them." (p.32) Through religious beliefs, Bonhoeffer believed because God suffered for others that it is right for people to share in the suffering of others as well. By God loving each and every person, Bonhoeffer believed it was through love for one another that people would make it through the hard times. In 1943, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was arrested for corruption and helping the Jews. Two years later in 1945, the Christian Pastor was hung. Before Dietrich Bonhoeffer was sentenced to death he wrote "After 10 Years" as a Christmas letter to his friends. That is considered by many to be one of the great pieces of literature in our time.

When Socrates was questioned about the role of justice, Socrates explained that it is just to treat are friends good when they are good to us, and it is just to do harm to our enemies if they cause us harm. Socrates points out that doing harm is far worse than receiving harm, he believed simply by causing harm that one is hurting there self internally. In other terms, harming anyone or anything is the act of the unjust, and a just man will not harm another, because by doing so the just man will actually not be what he claims to be. Socrates was the first person to propose the idea that a man should not harm others, even his own enemies. Socrates once argued that men find it easier to fall into pleasures of the unjust instead of choosing the foreseeable loss and suffering as a result of being just and good. But because a just life is more important than any

external pleasures that injustice can afford, loss and suffering is a little price to pay. Some will

not pay it.

Socrates once purposed an idea for a just city. He believed everyone would have their own specific role and if everyone followed these paths, the city would work to its best. The city would be a place where crime wouldn't be seen, everyone would need each other and hold each other in high regards and each person would eventually feel equally valuable to one another. Bonhoeffer believed we should all stick together as well and treat each other in equal regard. "...we abandon our self-respect, the flooded gates are opened, chaos bursts the dam that we were to defend; and we are responsible for it all." (p. 35) Bonhoeffer believed through one person acting unjustly, another

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