No Justice, No Peace

George Zimmerman was found not guilty by a 6 person jury yesterday, in spite of the fact that no one disputed that he took the life of Trayvon Martin, a 17 year old who did nothing more than walk down the public street. Mr. Zimmerman left his vehicle after the 911 dispatcher told him not to do so. He engaged Trayvon and shot him. Those facts are not in dispute. A young black youth is dead at the hands of a self-styled vigilante and yet he was allowed to go free. 

What if it had been the other way around? What if the black youth had taken the life of George Zimmerman? Does anyone really think there would have been a not guilty verdict? No, because we all KNOW that young black males are profiled and judged before the evidence is presented. There IS no justice if you are young and black. Many think there is no justice, period. 

The banks destroy the economy with their predatory lending practices, foreclose on millions and put them out on the streets. Though we all condemn the behavior of the banks, not one person is convicted of a crime, except some who try to keep their homes. Not one bank official. Not one.

Oil companies devastate the environment and  there are small penalties, if any. Spill after spill and still they continue to act with impunity. The people of the Gulf Coast still pay for their negligence as does the ecosystem of the Gulf itself. There is no justice here either.

Millions of Americans were forced onto S.N.A.P. (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program), better known as Food Stamps. Some 42 million now receive benefits because they make so little money. Some 48 millions are nutritionally vulnerable,i.e. hungry. And now the Republicans in the House of Representatives want to gut or eliminate the program that is the lifeline for these people. Where is the justice?

These are but examples of the situation as it stands in the United States. Justice is hard to come by especially if you're poor, elderly, unemployed, a woman or a minority. The Republicans have turned their backs and care only for the powerful and rich. Everything they do seems intended to make make the lives of ordinary Americans more difficult.

But there are consequences for this immoral behavior. And the Bible is clear that where there is no justice, there can be no peace in the eyes of the Lord. The prophet Amos lays it out succinctly in these snippets (Amos 6:7-24, NIV):

⁷ There are those who turn justice into bitterness
    and cast righteousness to the ground....

⁹ ...With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold
    and brings the fortified city to ruin.
 

¹⁰ There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court
    and detest the one who tells the truth.

¹¹ You levy a straw tax on the poor
    and impose a tax on their grain.
Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,
    you will not live in them;
though you have planted lush vineyards,
    you will not drink their wine.
¹² For I know how many are your offenses
    and how great your sins.

There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes
    and deprive the poor of justice in the courts.
¹³ Therefore the prudent keep quiet in such times,
    for the times are evil.

¹⁴ Seek good, not evil,
    that you may live.
Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,
    just as you say he is.
¹⁵ Hate evil, love good;
    maintain justice in the courts.
Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy
    on the remnant of Joseph.

¹⁶ Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord God Almighty, says:

“There will be wailing in all the streets
    and cries of anguish in every public square...

 ²¹ “I hate, I despise your religious festivals;
    your assemblies are a stench to me.
²² Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
    I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
    I will have no regard for them.
²³ Away with the noise of your songs!
    I will not listen to the music of your harps.
²⁴ But let justice roll on like a river,
    righteousness like a never-failing stream!

This is the language of the Bible, the consequences of sin in the eyes of God,  but it is also a fundamental truth: there are consequences for every action. In physics the language is this:for every action there is and equal and opposite reaction. Whatever the way you say it, injustice has it's consequences for the oppressor. There may not be justice now for Trayvon today or for those who lost their homes, or for the hungry but IT WILL COME. It always has and it always will. It is a universal truth and those who oppress should repent now (repent simply means, "To turn around").
Turn from their evil ways and right their wrongs where they can. Otherwise, in the words of a current saying, "Karma can be a  _itch."  If there is no justice, there will be no peace.