Justice is Just Ice...

Justice is just like icing on a cake, it is a sweet covering that offers short-term gratification without addressing the REAL problem.

Justice is Just Ice." Just like icing on a cake, it is a sweet covering that offers short-term gratification without addressing the REAL problem.

The real problem is that we have forgotten how to love. Mother Teresa said that if there is no peace (or love) it is because we have forgotten that we belong to one another."

Yet, we still have this philosophy of an eye for an eye." Both in our criminal justice system and at the level of war on other countries.

Regarding a judges decision in Chicago to let inmates off of Death Row, I was saddened to hear the rage and anger at him for his decision. What I heard him say was that justice wasnt about death."

I was in such pain hearing the families of the victims speak about the innocent death of their loved ones. Their deaths were tragic, horrendous and incomprehensible. Yet, I also felt pain when I heard of the suffocating, electrocuting and brutalization that occurred to the prisoners to get them to confess to a crime they didnt commit. I am also saddened to know the pain that the perpetrators must have been plagued with to commit such heinous acts. I have empathy for everyone. I feel the same sadness for the victim AND the perpetrator.

I am taught in all situations to LOVE. Even to love those who seem" unworthy of love. Do we have enough love in our hearts for everyone? Or only for certain classes or specific types of people? Furthermore, who makes that decision who is worthy and unworthy of love?

What if each and every one of us felt absolutely loved? What would the world be like?

I am not saying that people shouldnt be held accountable for their actions. I am asking us to question why we feel a need to end the killing and violence in the world by adding to it by killing others?

I know that the only Power in the Universe capable of solving all the Worlds problems is: LOVE.

I ask for all of us to open our hearts to love for everyone; victim/perpetrator alike as well as to people in other countries.

Lisa Hepner is the author of Peaceful Earth: Spiritual Perspectives on Inner Peace and World Peace (www.peacefulearth.org). She has a story in the book that addresses the issue of An Eye for an Eye."