The seasoned revolutionary, in her old age, once sat on the ground, gazing aimlessly into the night sky, then spoke quietly to those in her company:
“Do not seek justice. The universe will laugh at you. It is like spending serious time searching for your imaginary friend.
You cannot explain the big bang, the formation and explosion of stars, the creation of the elements inside the guts of stars, the formation of planets, solar systems, atmospheres, life, and evolution, in terms of justice. The animal societies from which human societies evolved cannot be understood in terms of justice either. There is no known rule the universe endorses that adopts a mechanism of justice: birth, growth and decay, death, gravity, space-time continuum, etc..
Instead, seek reparation and retribution. They are institutions that can be socially invoked and controlled. Just don’t mistake either one for the mirage of the ideal existential state named justice. There is no leveling of the playing field. No field is ever level. Planet Earth is round, mountainous, with land and water, deserts and forests. There is no undoing of what was already done. There are only possibilities of amendments that can be made with genuine effort. The universe may not ultimately agree with you, but at least it will not laugh at you.”
The seasoned revolutionary then stopped talking, and continued gazing into the night sky, while everyone in her company had something to say.
(old blog)