What two factors aid justice, what two factors impede Justices?

The dictionary definition of justice states that it is the application of the law, the quality of being fair and reasonable, and just behavior or treatment. But I think that justice means a little more than just that. It means being respectful, being open, and spreading human kindness.

 So what helps to aid justice and support this kindness? All humans have an innate instinct to help their fellow beings, to fight for the common good, and plea for their freedom. Martin Luther King Jr. protested against all the odds to save his people from the ties of segregation. In World War 2 Japanese immigrants would help and share with each other in the camps, leaning on their community members for guidance. 

But not everybody realizes the kindness within them. And so Justice is impeded by the evil of other humans, and this evil causes the conflicts we experience even in the world today.

So Justice is aided by the kindness of humans, but torn down by the evil of others. How does the good in people overcome the bad in this world? Why is it so hard to be respectful, be open, and spread human kindness?

Another factor that I believe aids justice is family. With family, people learn to respect their elders and the ideas of others. With family, people learn how to love and care for one other. With family, people learn how to have faith and be fair to others, to be reasonable. They learn justice in its purest form. 

But, again, family can impede justice. Those who have had bad childhood, maybe with uncaring parents, or unsupportive family members, are often unhappy. If their childhood is perhaps devoid of any love and care, it results in unhappiness in the world. They think why should anyone deserve what they never had? And so evil is now spread.

Justice is a balancing scale. The very things that aid justice can impede it.

So how can we be respectful, be open, and spread human kindness?

Why can’t we all just be nice?

What does it mean to be a witness? And how do witnesses relate to World War 2? 

     A witness isn't just a man or a woman who stands up in front of a judge, and then answers question restating what they viewed. A witness isn't just an observer. A witness isn't just a person caught in the right place at the right time. 

      A witness is a man or a woman with power. Millions of people were witnesses to the Holocaust. There were millions who were not fighting, or being attacked, or forced into submission. Millions around the globe  were  just  witnesses. Witnesses who held power, and had potential.

     Imagine if every one of those witnesses spoke up and protested. Not just a few here and then, or even a large group. But every witness, and every bystander. 

    When we visited the Museum of Tolerance and the Japanese American Museum, my take on what it means to be a witness completely transformed. I realized that many people were witnesses to the Holocaust. They were bystanders to the camps in Europe and in America. They were bystanders to cruel and unfair events. And even when some thought it was wrong, they remained silent witnesses. But being silent and voiceless isn't what it means to be a witness. 

     Imagine how the world could change even today, if every witness to evil spoke up for good. Imagine how life would change if every bystander became a fighter, a fighter for something better. Imagine if being a witness meant having power, the power to change the future. 

Imagine that witness is you.