Relationships Between Equality and Justice in America

Justice is a term used widely to mean the quality of being fair, just, and impartial; and the process of administering or maintaining a just environment. There are impartial institutions such as the courts whose responsibilities are to maintain and administer what is jus and ensure that there is equal justice for everybody under their jurisdiction. The institutions rely on regulations in the form of laws and rules to carry out their functions. For a very long time since the invention of the word justice, it has been a subject of debate, especially in the political spheres. This means that despite the calls for equality and justice for all people, there are several cases of injustice among people. The purpose of this paper is to explain the meaning of justice and injustice causes of injustice, types of injustice, relationships between equality and justice, challenges faced in search of justice for all in America, and the possible solutions.

Justice for All

Justice for All in a country means that all the residents are treated equally before the law, cases heard and determined equally without considering other factors such as socioeconomic, racial, or ethnic backgrounds. This way, every citizen will feel safe and protected by the laws of the country. America has very many people with diverse cultures, places of origin, educational backgrounds, and income levels (Schiller 640). The diversity in the American population is an issue that must be given great attention when discussing the achievement of justice for all in the country. To be able to achieve the goal of obtaining equal justice for all, legal institutions need to begin treating people and cases equally (Emling 1). Also, the federal and state governments should consider the diversity among the citizens so that the legislative processes and laws made help to promote equality before the law by bridging the existing gaps.

Types of Injustices

There are various forms of injustice or inequalities among people living in a society. Some common types include social injustice, political injustices, economic, and healthcare injustices.

Social Injustice

In a multicultural country like America, there are people with different social and cultural backgrounds living together and interacting on a daily basis. The majority social group is the whites, followed by major minority groups such as African Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanics. In almost every state, these socio-cultural groups must be found. These groups are further divided into many ethnic subdivisions with different beliefs and ways of life. In their daily interactions, cases of discrimination against one another emerge (Newman 944). Sometimes, people in authoritative positions who should be protecting the vulnerable populations are the ones implicated in the cases.

Economic Injustices

Every society has got low-income and high-income individuals. In most cases, there are parts of a society inhabited by the poor and a different region for the rich. This segregation affects the distribution of resources, the building of infrastructures, how people are treated before the law, and general perception. For example, low-income regions are associated with poor infrastructure, poor quality of life, and a high tendency to be implicated in criminal cases.

Economic injustices are also caused by other forms of segregation, such as gender inequality and ethnocultural differences. In the history of traditional America, women were not allowed to take part in economic activities. The traditional gender roles were defined such that male members of the society were the providers and protectors of the families while females took care of homes and children (Steinberg 227). Women were, therefore, limited to domestic roles leaving all the economic jobs for men. There have been several campaigns for gender equality in the last few decades. As a result, the country and other parts of the world have managed to redefine gender identity to have women also secure jobs that were perceived to belong to men. However, there still cases of injustices where people are denied jobs based on their gender. Some organizations also offer jobs based on the applicants’ ethnic or racial backgrounds.

Healthcare Injustices

Every American citizen is entitled to high-quality health care irrespective of their demographic factors. Health care is an essential need that every citizen should have good access to. However, access to health services is one of the sources of equalities in the United States. Due to the lack of a universal healthcare system in the United States, American citizens are required to purchase insurance coverage from the private market providers (Schiller 641). This means that, to a large extent, an individual’s access to health care services will depend on the level of income. Some people are only able to afford basic services, while others can afford specialized services. This kind of injustice is why the Affordable Care Act was introduced.

The Justice Gap

The justice gap refers to a difference that exists between the available legal services and the needs for the services. In the United States, here are several vulnerable populations who have been impacted by his gap. Understanding this gap involves critically looking at the vulnerable populations and how they are impacted by the current justice system. Below are examples of the populations and causes of injustice among them:

Low-Income Individuals

These are people whose income levels can barely afford their basic needs. They are people without employment or whose jobs do not yield wages that can sustain them comfortably. Despite the low unemployment levels in the United States, there is a significant number of people living within the poverty bracket due to a lack of jobs or insufficient wages. The presence of this population is one of the main causes of injustices. This is because the poor are commonly associated with high crime rates, low levels of education, social injustices, and health injustices (Newman 944). The aim of any move towards justice for all should begin by addressing the gap between the rich and the poor.

People of Color

The country has multiple racial citizens led by the whites who, for the majority, followed by the minority African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians. The multiracial composition of the United States began in the era of the slave trade, where people from third world countries in Africa and Asia. After the abolishment of slavery, the slaves remained in the country as citizens and were given the necessary documents and rights, including the right to vote. Centuries after this great achievement, racial discrimination and injustice cases are still heard of. People get jobs based on their skin color, and there are a lot of violence and occasional shootings directed towards people of a certain race (Emling 2). In social places, several cases about verbal racial words directed towards individuals are common. The problem is that the injustices against people of color are committed even with people who are supposed to be protecting the vulnerable.

Other vulnerable populations include the immigrants, the elderly, women, gays, and lesbians. Illegal immigration has been a long-term challenge in the United States borders. The problems of illegal immigration include the smuggling of illegal drugs and products. In the fight against this problem, legal immigrants are often implicated and even harassed and arrested wrongly (Steinberg 231). The gays and lesbians face challenges of condemnation, rejection, and judgment from all quarters. It took a legislative intervention to recognize gay rights and enable homosexuals to be treated equally as heterosexuals by the law. But still, they face public condemnation and judgment, making socialization and coexistence difficult.

Understanding the Origin of Justice and Injustice

Throughout American history, there have been several claims by individuals or groups about being treated unequally by the people with power. In traditional societies, only people born in families or clans with privileges had sufficient access to resources. The rest had limited access leading to unequal treatments and cries for justice. Many people struggled to access proper education, daily food, and good shelter. Some people would be enslaved or mistreated by the privileged individuals to access these needs (Newman 945). In traditional societies, unequal treatment was the norm as there was a popular belief by rulers that the people could not be trusted to make some critical decisions on the operation of society.

Due to the long period of mistreatment, several African American communities were subjected to poverty. After the abolishment of slavery in America, many rulers still viewed the former slaves as inferior human beings who did not deserve equal opportunities as their former masters. As a result, African Americans were denied access to resources or wealth, making them survives as low-income workers. With the continued growth in the economy, people were presented with numerous opportunities to find alternative sources of income and to start a new business that would improve their economic status.

Amidst the two world wars and the great depression, American economic stability began to steadily rise with even the low-income Americans seeing their living standards improve tremendously in the 20th Century. Despite this improvement, the understanding of fairness and equality changed. Some people believed that the role of the government is to protect everybody’s rights impartially (Newman 945). However, many Americans expected that the outcomes should be equal. Inequalities began by money being taken from one group of people and given to another group in an attempt to realize equity. Firms owned by individuals from minority groups received preferential treatments when they applied for government contracts. Therefore, to achieve the desired equitable outcomes, the government got involved in unequal treatment of the people it should protect (Emling 2). To some people, this is a necessary move because society is naturally imbalanced. According to them, the role of the government is to balance the society by redistributing the resources. However, this can also be viewed as punishing people who might have worked hard to earn their resources.

Challenges to the Achievement of Justice for All

The Cost of Justice

In American courts, individuals are supposed to be presented by lawyers who help to argue out their cases before judges. One is expected to hire a lawyer of choice to help out. Sometimes, it might be too expensive to hire a good lawyer making one go for any cheap option. Because the cases are judged based on how the individual has argued out a case, some people may not get the justice they deserve (Schiller 641). Some individuals even fail to get a lawyer and opt to represent themselves before a judge. In many cases, the rich get their way even if they were on the wrong because of a good representation (Newman 945). To solve this inequality, those who are unable to afford lawyers should be assigned qualified state lawyers who are committed to getting justice for the people they represent.

Lack of Knowledge and Ignorance

There are many people who are not aware of their rights and privileges. Some do not know what they should do to get justice. These people may get wrongly arrested and charged due to a lack of knowledge. Leaders, rulers, and administrators often take advantage of individuals’ ignorance to deny them justice. For example, many people have been arrested and charged based on rumors or perception that they may be criminals. Other people are denied resources, rights, or freedoms that they are entitled to because they are not aware that it belongs to them. In this regard, the government and administrators should offer sufficient public education to the public to make everybody aware of their rights and freedoms (Newman 945). Citizens need to know what to expect from law enforcers and leaders, how to react to arrests and charges, and what to do in case of denied justice.

General Perception

The perception of people or groups is one of the great challenges of getting justice for all. This is because individuals will be judged based on the perception instead of treating a case individually. For example, people from low-income neighborhoods are associated with high crime rates. Therefore, law enforcers will most likely treat an individual from such a place with suspicion even the individual is innocent. There have been many cases of arrests based on perception leading to non-perpetrators charged. Public perception has impacted many Asian-Americans negatively. Most terrorism cases in the United States have been committed by people of Asian origins (Emling 3). As a result, whenever there is an investigation on terrorism, even innocent members of this community are arrested or searched.

Media Attention

Media coverage given to cases determines how well the case will be handled. Many cases covered by the media are usually handled with care and given more attention by the courts. Usually, media covers specific cases with the huge public interest that will help the media company in getting more viewership. The courts prioritize such cases because they know that many people are interested in how the cases will conclude (Newman 945). The solution is, therefore, to have the courts treat all cases equally irrespective of their nature.

To achieve justice for all, all the stakeholders should work together to fight against injustices. The parties that should be involved in this fight include the general public, the department of justice, federal and state governments, and law administrators. The courts need to have systems that determine cases with equality and fairness. In the process, factors such as differences in cultural beliefs, socioeconomic, and cultural differences need to be considered (Steinberg 233). After identifying how these factors might cause injustices, the authorities will intervene by using appropriate measures.

Secondly, it is important to involve the public in fighting for justice for all. Members of the public are the main victims of injustices. This makes them important stakeholders in any justice campaign. The first step should be to educate the public and enhance their awareness about their rights, privileges, and freedoms. Many citizens become victims of injustices because of a lack of knowledge and awareness (Schiller 642). The government needs to encourage people to read the constitution and other governance documents. Finally, law enforcement agencies also need to educate the general public about matters concerning justice, equality, and fairness.

Conclusion

Being just is the ultimate dream of every member of society. Every individual wants to be treated equally and fairly. However, societies are imbalanced in every aspect. Resources are unevenly distributed, power belongs to a few members of the society, and some people have privileges that others do not have. This makes equality for all a challenge as the society itself is not just. Common types of injustices include gender inequalities, social injustices, ethnic and racial differences, and socioeconomic classes. Attempts by governing bodies to balance the environment leads to further cases of injustices as it will involve taking the resources and belongings of some individuals and giving to others. To achieve justice for all, there is need to incorporate all the parties involved.