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Law & Enforcement
Justice And The Human Personality by Saad Anis "Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust?" -- St. Thomas Aquinas When made in the thirteenth century, this assertion alluded strictly to the law of the Church as just, and rejected all other moral and juridical codes as heretical. The human personality, understood to be the disposition tempered by the spirit, was thought to benefit by the divine laws of the almighty, not to be questioned but obeyed implicitly. Of course, St. Aquinas conveniently overlooked the universal application of justice to all, following the crowd in the then rampant practice of religious intolerance while stating, "Incorrigible heretics, upon excommunication from the Church, are to be turned over to secular authorities for `extermination.' Jews may be allowed to practice their faith, but secular authorities should see to it that on all occasions they are `distinguished from other persons by some particular dress.' Infidels other than Jews `are in no-wise to be tolerated." Clearly, in St. Aquinas's view, the application of justice and freedom to the human personality was selective. It must be contended that "human personality" is a dynamic concept. Its meaning and interpretation change with time, and may even be held as disparate perceptions by contemporary cultures. Similarly, the objective of Justice through history, its interpretations and subsequent implementations have been diverse, ranging from the true servitude of justice to the unquestioning slavery of flagrant fascism. A case in point is the above-mentioned statement regarding justice, and the implications made therein by different intellects in varying times. This concept of justice and its impact on the human personality was borrowed some seven centuries later by Dr. Martin Luther King in his famous letter from Birmingham Jail. While a man of the cloth himself, Dr. King's purpose was specifically an impassioned assault on the segregationist policies of the time, rather than any theological assertions. In Dr. King's view, justice relates to the equitable implementation of laws on all within a society. Injustice occurs whenever special privileges are accorded to any particular class or community. It leads to discrimination and thus, societal discord. Having shown the evolution in the conception of justice and its scope with the progression of time, we can reasonably claim that the concepts of human personality, justice and its converse may have undergone significant transmutation in present times from previously held perceptions thereof. In the simplest terms, the human personality can be defined in one word: freedom. Of course, in a civilised society, this freedom is subject to certain bounds, all of which can be summed up as follows: that is, an individual has freedom so long as he does not transgress upon the rights of another within the society. This freedom includes primarily, the freedom to express, exercise privacy and associate; and generally, a host of other rights accorded to the citizens of any free society today. As there exists a very fine line between freedom and the abuse thereof, society has evolved a system of justice to ensure that the balance between freedom and responsibilities, right and duties, does not degrade to a laissez faire anarchy. The greatest danger to freedom in today's system is from over-zealous proponents of justice, those who intentionally confuse the demarcation between individual freedom and collective adherence to undermine the earlier and consequently obtain the latter from the society. A resounding instance of this abuse is the Patriot Act enacted in the United States, which seeks to curb individual freedom for the avowed aim of protection of that very liberty. The Act grants sweeping powers to law-enforcement agencies to detain citizens without any formal charges, along with the intrusive authority of search and surveillance. This undermines the hitherto inviolable principles of freedom of expression, privacy, due process and equal protection. Another lingering threat to justice is the unbridled power that rests with the numerical majority within a State to "legally" compel the minority to heed its line, especially with regard to personal freedom. It is owing to this suffocating hold of the preponderance on individual liberty, which has caused otherwise thriving democracies to restrict the scope of the institution of marriage on petty grounds of sexual orientation, once again disregarding individual volition. Attitudes such as these sound the proverbial death-knell for personal freedom on the altar of adherence to a distorted brand of justice as defined by a capricious majority. Consequently, it spells the demise of justice based on the ethics of reason and compassion, succeeded by one dogmatic theology or the other. The system of democracy is tragically flawed, in that its weakness stems from its strength: the will of the majority. While the democratic system ensures the will of the preponderance, it also serves to effectively quash the voice of the minority under the omnipotent will of the majority. The majority, thus, has the hegemony to exercise and implement whatever laws it may deign necessary, no matter how prejudicial to a minority within the State. This formulation leaves the minority at the mercy of mass goodwill, which essentially is no guarantee at all. Since the majority makes the law, justice can be tempered to her will. Injustice thus, pervades our system in the noble robes of its converse. Justice dies thence. To propound upon the agony, no feasible alternative to the present system is available to provide respite to the numerical minority. Liberty is a right which must be maintained and cherished akin to a privilege. In every age, an attempt is made to usurp this freedom in the name of justice. This age is not any different. Reason must be our guide in deliberating issues of freedom and justice. What we must always remember, is that one can never exist without the other. About the Author(s): See under Our Contributors to find out about the Author(s) of this article. |
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