W

July    20th

MADE    FOR JUSTICE

“The    unjust  person  acts    against the gods.   For insofar as  the nature  of  the universe    made    rational

creatures   for the sake    of  each    other,  with    an  eye toward  mutual  benefit based   on  true    value   and

never   for harm,   anyone  breaking    nature’s    will    obviously   acts    against the oldest  of  gods.”

—MARCUS AURELIUS,   MEDITATIONS,    9.1.1

e say of the most heinous acts that they are crimes against nature. We consider certain things to be
an affront against humanity, saying, “This violates everything we hold dear.” However much we
differ in religion, upbringing, politics, class, or gender, we can come together in agreement there.
Why? Because our sense of justice goes marrow deep. We don’t like it when people cut in line; we
don’t like freeloaders; we pass laws that protect the defenseless; and we pay our taxes, agreeing, in part,
to redistribute our wealth to those in need. At the same time, if we think we can get away with it, we
might try to cheat or bend the rules. To paraphrase Bill Walsh, when left to our own devices, many of us
individuals seek lower ground like water.
The key, then, is to support our natural inclination to justice with strong boundaries and strong
commitments—to embrace, as Lincoln urged a divided, angry nation to do, “the better angels of our
nature.”