Human life is held in much higher esteem, and the taking of it, whether in private quarrel or by judicial procedure, is looked upon much more seriously than it was formerly.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
To make the public sentiment, on the side of all that is just and true and noble, is the highest use of life.
Much violence is based on the illusion that life is a property to be defended and not to be shared.
Reverence for life is the highest court of appeal.
In countries with a properly functioning legal system, the mob continues to exist, but it is rarely called upon to mete out capital punishment. The right to take human life belongs to the state. Not so in societies where weak courts and poor law enforcement are combined with intractable structural injustices.
Justice and judgment lie often a world apart.
My concern is that contention is becoming accepted as a way of life.
In all private quarrels the duller nature is triumphant by reason of dullness.
In civilized life, law floats in a sea of ethics.
Unfortunately in life, justice is not always achieved.
To put it mildly, nothing can be turned and worn inside out with greater ease than one's notion of social justice, public conscience, a better future, etc.