Bleeding Edge

In these dark wintry days, that the weather allows all of us to be more introspective — we have to consider the issuance of Justice since everyone around us pretends to care or to know all about it…

And never mind the television channels bombarding us each and every day with silly admonition and partisan politics — the reality of Justice does not center on the legalistic approach to the Law, but rather on the individual actions of the simple human beings that encompass out Society.

In order to demonstrate and elucidate this point of interest — I must share with you a rather unique story here, about a graybeard that was a good friend of mine and also a humble professor of Constitutional Law at Harvard University up until the point that he died a couple of decades back.

He had the honor of teaching the very last University course of law that is required of all graduates in order to complete all of their University courses, and thus get their Jurisprudence diploma.

Right after passing this Man’s course, all graduates, get their walking papers and go to perform their internships, in order to take the bar examinations and enter the Courts with the bravado of all new lawyers that set to set the world to rights.

Yet first they have to pass this Constitutional Law class that is offered by my old friend, the Professor, who is so old, that I am certain that he has seen quite a few things in his vast lifetime…

Yet on this last day of his course, the old professor invited me to attend his class so that I can get a glimpse of his soon to end professional life, and to try to understand his contribution to Humanity because I was writing an article about Justice — much as I am doing now.

And as he was offering his last class, he apparently chose to give a real lesson and a gem of wisdom, to his classroom full of soon to be Juris Doctors, graduate lawyers, future attorneys, impatient esquires and new judges.

So after the learned Professor entered the classroom, he slowly settled his things on the desk up at the raised dais and he looked around carefully and then he pointed his finger at a random student and signaled for him to approach the Professor’s desk, asked his name, and then told him to go out of the class.

Out of the whole auditorium, he picked this one student and asked him to leave. Indeed this was so sudden that a complete silence befell the room and all the students were now super alert watching the Professor and the chosen student with intent and full attention.

Yet the Professor showed the exit to the student politely but firmly and he did this without raising his voice, but also without any reason, any provocation, or any cause.

He said that he simply wanted the student gone.

Of course, the student tried to ask for the reason of his expulsion, and offered pleadings in his defense, but the teacher did not even bother to listen, and simply stuck to his decision, so the student simply had to collect his things, and walk out of the classroom.

Complete silence had befallen the room and you could hear a pin drop, bit no other conversation or even breathing could be heard from anyone.

All the students were stunned and silent, to the extent that they thought the Professor was going to ask other students to leave…

But that was not to be the case that day. No one else was expelled. Only the one student remained expelled.

So now, the old Professor, looked around carefully, and asked politely if anyone had anything to say, and when he received the quiet shaking of the heads indicating that nobody had anything to say — he started his lecture.

Indeed, he started the lecture by asking this example of a Socratic dialogue question, of his students.

His first question right off the bat, was this difficult one:

“Why do we have laws?”

A student stood up and said:

“We have laws in order to control people’s attitudes.”

Another student said:

“We have laws in order to apply to society.”

The third student said:

“We have Laws, so that no one can abuse the weak ones.”

After hearing many answers, the teacher said:

“All these things are fine but are not enough.”

A student stood up and said:

“We have Laws in order to let justice be established.”

The teacher answered thus:

“YES. Yes, this is the answer I wanted to hear.”

“Indeed, the correct answer is that we have Laws, so that justice may prevail.”

Then, the teacher asked another question:

“Yes, we have Laws in order to have Justice, but what is the benefit of justice?

A student replied:

“The benefit of Justice is so that people’s rights can be protected and no one can oppress anyone.”

This time the teacher said after a long time:

“Well, without fear of me, and without hesitation, answer me this:

“Did I do any injustice to your fellow student that was expelled from this classroom earlier on?”

All the students replied in tandem:

“Yes sir, you have committed abuse of power and abuse of your authority.”

This time the teacher spoke with a stentorian voice tinted with anger and said:

“You are right that oppression has happened, but why you were all silent when this wrong was committed?”

He went on to exclaim:

“What is the benefit of laws if there is no compassion, no humanity, and no effort is made to thwart injustice, by anyone amongst you all?”

The old Prof now was animated and said:

“Am simply saying the because, when your companion was being abused, and you were sitting silent, enjoying the fact that his ‘fate” has not befallen you — there was only one explanation for your behavior: You have all lost your humanity.”

“And please remember that when your humanity fails You — there is no replacement for it.”

After this, the teacher gathered his belongings and walked out of the room.

Bit not for long, because the old Professor went out and called the expelled student to come back — whereas, and in front of the whole class asked for his forgiveness, and voiced to the rest of the students these awesome words:

“This is your lesson of Constitutional law for today, and for ever.”

“Now, go out into the World, and find other such examples of injustice in our society, and use your humanity in order to be inspired and thus become compassionate towards all others, and then use your knowledge of the Law in order to think, argue, and even forcibly bring about Justice, by implementing the laws that you learned and the legal system that you have studied — in order to be able to affect the erasure of such injustices from our society.”

“Go out to the World and bring Justice for the correction of all such errant behaviors amongst human beings…”

Yours,

Dr Churchill

PS:

I truly second that advise from the Good Professor of Constitutional Law & Justice.

And I want to add this one also from the message bellow, because we should not allow anyone to divide us based on any criteria whatsoever….