The Idea of an Essay, Volume 4

104 The Idea of an Essay: Volume 4 her (Sedgwick 73). The only problem was that Jane’s father was dead. But this does not stop Jane from showing kindness and giving the poor woman the 100 dollars. Sedgwick pities the misfortunate lady and says it was the just thing for Jane to do, and in the end, all seems fair. After all, the poor woman was not being selfish in asking for the money, she was only trying to feed her starving children. So it would be fair to give her the sum owed by the father. But this is not justice. By law Jane did not owe this lady money, because debts cannot be passed from parent to child. The poor woman had no right to the money she received, and therefor she got the money in an unjust way. Justice is not always what we picture it to be. The bottom line is this: fairness is based on how we feel, but justice is not. Justice is an unwavering truth that holds steady whether desirable or not, or whether it is the kind thing to do or not. Many things that people think of as unjust are actually the opposite. Nicholas Wolterstorff assumes in his book Justice: Rights and Wrongs that he does not need to explain to his audience that betraying someone’s trust is wrong because everyone already knows it’s wrong (295). But betraying someone’s trust can actually be a very just thing to do. For example, what if a friend strutted up to me and said “I swiped that lady’s wallet while she wasn’t looking, but don’t tell anyone.” According to Wolrerstorff’s thinking, I should let him get away with this crime because betraying his trust would be wrong. So some actions that seem obviously wrong might actually be the right thing to do. Another example of how justice cannot be based on feeling is the death penalty. In Evan Mandery’s book A Wild Justice: The Death and Resurrection of Capital Punishment in America, he sympathizes with those trying to abolish capital punishment. His book follows the Furman vs. Georgia case which caused the death penalty to be obliterated in 1972. In a 5-4 decision, the supreme court ruled that death was a “cruel and unusual punishment” (236). Many people agreed that the death penalty was too harsh, and that they would not want to be put to death if they had committed a crime, and that they feel this is unfair. Stop right there. As soon as humans take their own considerations into account, the death penalty switches from a discussion of what’s just to a discussion of what’s fair. Whether the death penalty is right or wrong, opinions must be left out of the discussion. Feelings must never be considered when dealing with justice. Justice can never coexist with fairness, except by coincidence. But justice and mercy can. 1 Corinthians 15:3 says “Christ died for