No one gets everything all ways. Justice comes to all eventually. All things equal out generally over time. The character Henri Ducard (played by Liam Neeson) said 'Justice is balance,' in Batman Begins and I find it true to life. Justice and righteousness (meaning essentially the same thing in ancient Hebrew) require balance to be true. In all life situations this more or less works out. Researching history we find, justice is inevitable.
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According to our place in life we're afforded only as much justice as our peers. We are not superior or inferior. Our peer group, therefore, is the bar by which we're measured. This should make us want to knock around those who we can learn from because, amongst other things, we'll benefit from the more privileged standard of justice as compared to the standard we'd ordinarily receive.
At its rawest, this justice is probably true so none of us gets a swelled head. As the pendulum swings our way, we are apt to get high and mighty; it swings back the other and we have to deal with the new humbling reality. It's healthy that we don't get everything our own way. It reminds us that we're not God, and we forever remain subject to his rule whether we like that fact or not.
If we work hard we get blessed more; if we work too hard the blessing is tainted. If we don't work hard enough, well, justice catches us eventually. Justice is diligence.
Justice is also prudence. When we consider things carefully, weighing risk, judging the moment correctly, we afford the best possible result for ourselves and others affected. If, on the other hand, we deal flippantly, we know what inevitably comes; justice.
Justice is shalom. When we rely on justice because we trust it, we are at peace with it, and this develops faith in us to expect justice to come through in the general sense.
Justice is respect. It's the correct order of things, give or take a smidgeon of injustice (that requires faith for us to endure). It respects the natural and supernatural order and doesn't get in the way of its workings; sometimes we don't like it, but we daren't get in the way of justice.
Justice is finally, wisdom. Justice is truth; a good, clear, strong, general truth. Justice is beauty we can rely on. Justice is bigger than us every time.
Praise Almighty God for justice. His justice is balance.
Copyright © 2009, S. J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
Charles Carroll and his brother, Bobby, had the misfortune of being unwanted and hard-to-place foster children in the 1950s. So the powers that be simply reclassified them from "orphan" to "retarded" and exiled them to a state institution for the mentally retarded. There they remained for years, deprived of their civil liberties, devoid of their right to an education, and denied any semblance of a humane existence.
Carroll's new memoir, "HARD CANDY: Nobody Ever Flies Over the Cuckoo's Nest," reveals the alarming abuses-emotional abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse and pedophilia-endured by the author, his brother, and other residents. It's written in the format of a novel; as a reader, you can easily lose yourself in Carroll's world and think you're reading fiction. But every so often, you'll turn the page to discover a photograph depicting the scene you've just read-a sobering reminder that this is, in fact, a shockingly true story.
"I chose to use the novel format because I felt this was the best way to tell my story," says Carroll. "I think this really allowed me to communicate how I felt at the time things were happening to me. I had the freedom to bring the 'characters' to life and take the reader on the journey with me." And what a journey that is. The author describes-through the eyes of a child, but the sensitive introspection of an adult-a world of living conditions so sadistic, so brutal and degrading, that "child abuse" seems a chillingly inadequate label.
Of course, that was fifty years ago. Such things could never happen today. Right?
Unfortunately, wrong.
"The Justice Department has been investigating state institutions across the U.S.-more than 60 facilities in the last five years alone," says Carroll. "Some of these have been developmental disability and mental retardation facilities. And, lo and behold, the New Lisbon Developmental Center in New Jersey, where my brother and I were committed, came under their radar screen."
In fact, the book's appendix offers startling evidence that abuses are anything but a thing of the past. The Justice Department's investigation of New Lisbon, in 2001-2002, found continuous violations of residents' civil rights and even life-threatening conditions. Investigations at other institutions bear striking similarities to one another and to New Lisbon: sexual abuse, physical abuse, and verbal abuse of residents (by staff and by other residents, even by other children); failure to report and follow up on incidents; inadequate psychiatric and medical care; inadequate education; inadequate habilitation programs (to prepare residents to function in society); and even a failure to provide basic sanitation. (For more details on the Justice Department probes under CRIPA, the Civil Rights for Institutionalized Persons Act, and a partial list of facilities investigated, go to .)
"When I read the Justice Department reports," relates Carroll, "all of my personal experiences came to mind-the abuse by staff, the attacks by other children, the unsanitary conditions, the feeling of futility when any of us tried to report an incident. In my book, I paint a pretty forthright picture of my life back then, with no apologies and no sugarcoating. But I also try to focus on how I survived, how my love for my brother kept me going. And I really want this book to be a voice for all those other children, victims like me, who can't speak for themselves."
As gut-wrenching as "HARD CANDY" is, it ultimately leaves the reader with a sense of that determination to survive and of the strong bond Carroll had-and has-with his Den Haag Letselschade Advocaat brother, Bobby. "After we were released from the state system, I lost track of Bobby. When I found him, in 1988, I decided it was time to write this book-something I had vowed to one day do when I was in my early teens."
"HARD CANDY" has been the culmination of a long, hard road since Carroll's days as a state ward. When he was finally released at the age of 16, he had the equivalent of a second grade education. He ended up in California and earned his diploma from Hollywood High School, then went on to earn an associate's degree in sociology and came just one course short of receiving his bachelor's degree from California State University. Carroll eventually started his own electrical contracting business, which supported him for twenty years.
That's when he found Bobby and started working on the book. He spent six years doing research, and another seven years writing, for a total of 12 revisions. "Facing my past was difficult," says the author. "I cried a lot, and the nightmares began all over again. But I persevered, and it ended up being a very cathartic process-better than therapy. Today, I'm at peace with myself."
Today, the brothers are reunited and living in Southern California. What does Carroll want to do now? "I want Bobby and I to stay together now, the way we started as children. And I want to raise public awareness of child abuse, pedophilia, and institutional abuse-to try to prevent similar abuses from happening in the future. Otherwise, I want little else for myself."
"HARD CANDY: Nobody Ever Flies Over the Cuckoo's Nest," by Charles A. Carroll, is available on Amazon and other online book retailers.
Help Prevent Child Abuse
If you suspect a case of child abuse or neglect, contact your local police, department of child protective services or family and children services, or National Child Abuse Hotline (Childhelp USA)800-4-A-Child or 800-422-4453 (24 hours)