|
Recently, I came across a suggestion that in America we do not have “justice for all,” as said in the Pledge of Allegiance. The person was upset at a recent Supreme Court ruling. As far as ‘justice for all” is concerned it depends on your definition of “justice.” In most cases you get a hearing and a trial before a judge. The process generally results in appeals that could go all the way to the Supreme Court. This is true in civil and criminal law. However, if you consider “justice” you winning your case, then your are right, there is not “justice for all.” Maybe in heaven things will be different. All the people who thought Gore should have won the 2000 Election are still screaming about the Justice System. “We got screwed,” they complain. Get over it.
But sometimes justice works in mysterious ways. A number of years back, my college attending son was working a summer job at the Post Office with a shift starting at 6:00 AM. One morning, on his way to work he rolled his vehicle through a stop sign and was quickly pulled over by a policeman. He got a ticket. I visited the intersection where he was apprehended and was surprised to find the stop sign was overgrown by vegetation and was nearly invisible. Good defense, I thought; so we went to Mayors Court to fight the citation. This would be a good lesson for my son. I brought along a Polaroid picture of the stop sign to prove his case.
In court, the ticketing officer gave testimony that the defendant did not come to a complete stop at the sign. Of course, it didn’t matter that there wasn’t a soul within five miles of that intersection at 5:45 AM. I then asked if I could offer a photo into evidence that showed the stop sign was not visible. The Mayor looked at it briefly then said, “Guilty, $85 plus court cost.”
“But…,” I tied to say and was quickly rebutted and told, “One word out of you and I will hold you in contempt.”
The next day, I drove by the stop sign and a town maintenance crew was cutting down the vegetation so people could see the sign. About two years later, I read in the local newspaper where a state investigation had discovered malfeasance in the Mayors handling of town services contracts. It seems he had been awarding contracts for municipal services to his relatives/friends and taking kickbacks. He was duly tried and spent some time in state prison for his actions.
You see there is “justice for all” in America. You just have to be patient. But it would also help if you said the Pledge of Allegiance frequently, with sincerity; honored the flag of your country by flying if proudly in front of your house; acknowledged we are one nation "under God" by praying to Him once in a while; work to keep our country indivisible by living peacefully with your neighbors; not encouraging our enemies, and be thankful every day that we do have liberty and "justice for all" here in America.
|
