The United States Department of Justice is the umbrella agency for law enforcement in America. Paradoxically, the agency is bound by rigid articles fThe The United States Department of Justic is the umbrella agency for law enforcement in America. Paradoxically, the agency is bound by rigid articles of law that conflict with the misnomer “Justice.” The agency cannot change the laws it enforces and “justice” is neither its province nor is it obtained; except, perhaps, by sheer accident. The same is true at every level of law enforcement. Judges and District Attorneys must follow the law to the letter, as must all front line enforcement agencies; police, the FBI, ATF, DEA and...well I’m not so sure about Homeland. The Supreme Court renders opinions and decides appeals. Their conclusions often become legal precedents, but again, like the men and women involved in this work, (notwithstanding the normal and perfectly acceptable amount of corruption) they are expected to adhere to the highest standards of the law. As I see it, however, they are trapped in a philosophical dilemma that is addressed in almost every version of the Bible; the most comprehensive legal compendium in existence.

    Paradox defines the dilemma. Our Constitution, which mandates separation of Church and State, inadvertently legitimizes the biblical concept of justice by virtue of the mandate itself. Justice is desirable, but the actions required to carry it out are prohibited by both documents. While we have taken great care to separate the law of the land from the law of the Bible, most of us recognize that they are strikingly similar both in content and the degree to which they are ignored by humanity.

    Can you imagine the confusion, frustration and anguish that victims and law enforcement workers must deal with on an everyday basis - as a rapist goes free on a technicality; or a cold blooded murderer is sentenced to 7 years in prison for killing a child.

    Law is a reflection of society’s need to prevent chaos, yet law itself is chaos because it represents mankind’s attempt to bring order to a random environment. As humans, we hesitate to accept this fact but the body of contemporary mathematical evidence effectively nullifies everything we believe to be true about the world we inhabit. There is no mathematical equation that validates the existence of justice. There is no written document of law that recognizes justice as anything more than a symbol of man’s desire to discriminate right from wrong. In the topsy turvy catalogue of law, doing the right thing is often wrong, while doing the wrong thing is often right. Many people don’t care one way or the other. I do.

    I want to do the right thing; the thing my heart and soul scream out for - I want justice! The same law that guarantees my right to pursue it says I cannot have it, unless it is sanctioned as an exception. There are exceptions. On our side of things, they are known as operatives. On the other side, they are terrorists. I want no part in any of this, but I have questions. Can I purchase an AK-47 from a gun runner and use it to kill the man who tortured and raped my nephew? No. Can I use the same weapon to kill Osama Bin Laden? Yes. Will I be prosecuted? A ticker tape parade would be more likely. Can I plant evidence in the home of the drug dealer who sells heroin to my child? No. Will the state incarcerate me for doing that? You better believe it. Internal Affairs has little interest in justice. Who does?