Fairness & Injustice

I don't know why, but fairness is really important to me. To me fairness does not mean that everybody gets what they want. Rather it means that everybody in the group has an equal opportunity to benefit. It's fundamental. It's one of the reasons I think that, as individuals & as a state, we should do everything to ensure that an accident of birth does not give some an unfair advantage & consign others to poverty.

Injustice, in any form, really gets to me. So much so that I simply cannot remain silent about what I perceive to be injustice. I also think that everyone should voice their concerns about unjust speech & actions. It isn't good enough to simply ignore unfairness & injustice. If we believe in a moral compass at all, we must be prepared to uphold it, even if that comes at a personal cost. 

We humans have been given a conscience. We have an internal voice & insticts to help us make judgements about what is fair & what is unjust. However we are also able to ignore those voices in order to avoid any adverse effects of speaking or acting. We can convince ourselves that what we do or don't do is of no consequence in the grand scheme of things. 

It isn't true. Atrocities can only happen when people stay silent. 

It seems that our world today is full of injustice. There seems little evidence of fairness. The news is full of negativity. Negative news sells newspapers & gets clicks on social media. How often do we see good news? We do need to shine a light on wrongdoing, but sometimes it seems that there isn't enough balance. 

I'm not sure I can see a solution to this conundrum. I have heard quite a few people say, for example, that they no longer listen to the news because it is so dire. That cannot be the way to go. We all need to face up to the things that are unacceptable & need to change. We can't be ostriches with our heads in the sand providing our little lives are OK.

We have the means to make our voices heard collectively. We need to use them wisely & loudly. We must not stay silent in the face of the dreadful events currently unfolding in our world. If Unfairness & Injustice prevail we all loose. 

The UK government is introducing a Crime & Policing Bill that includes measures to criminalise some protest activities. This bill, along with previous legislation like the Public Order Act, significantly expands police powers to restrict and penalize protests, even those deemed peaceful but disruptive. 

I think we should be very wary of accepting this.