Individual Justice

There are times in our lives when we must choose between following our morals and leaving things to justice, or acting out of anger and taking matters into our own hands. Sometimes it's just so hard to sit back and let "the system" take care of things (or not), when you yourself feel that the system isn't enough. Socrates said that you should follow your moral convictions above those of the land when they conflict. I don't think that Socrates was advocating martial law; I think that he felt that sometimes one individual can have a clearer understanding than the masses. There are times when I envy a concept like Batman. A normal human being, who took it upon himself to bring to justice criminals who could escape the notice of the authorities. Cast as a vigilante by the authorities, yet he got the job done. One man made a difference in a city of very many. Granted, Batman is a fictional character in a fictional Gotham City, but it's something that could really happen; it's the principle of it. It's so tempting to take the law into your own hands, and enact justice on those who think they can get away with things that harm other people emotionally, if not physically. The law can't really do much in the realm of emotions. But the people that are close to the people affected, we feel their pain, and cry for justice. We long to right wrongs, and see the people on the wrong side get what they deserve. It's hard to leave that in someone else's hands, when we feel that we can get things done so much more quickly and more effectively ourselves. Someone should NEVER have to feel like they need to be constantly looking over their shoulder. No one should live in fear of someone else. People prey on other people because of their own insecurities. It makes them feel powerful, and it makes them feel better about themselves. Power and manipulation are things that go hand-in-hand, power being something that is easy to abuse. People who manipulate and prey on those they feel are weaker than themselves should be held accountable. But what happens when the law does nothing for what goes on in a person's head? Emotions aren't exactly empirical. But the people close-by can see these things. And that's what moves us to anger. It isn't wise to act out of anger. But sometimes you just can't help it. Those who make other people afraid should be made afraid themselves. They should reap what they sow. Morality and justice are such a tangled-web. If only evil was always punished and good was always rewarded. What a simple world this would be. Sadly, this is a broken and corrupt world. One where not everyone gets what they deserves. Sometimes it takes all that we have to hold ourselves back, and hope and pray for the outcome that is deserved. All we can do, is hope that somewhere, sometime, justice will prevail.