Following the Narrow Trail

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      What is fair? or not-fair? Wrong? or right? Of all the human inventions, the concept of the fair and just stands out as leading points of ethics.
      I realized this late one morning watching two birds in our back yard. One bird dropped something from its beak and an instant later another bird swooped down out of nowhere and "stole" the dropped morsel. Of course, among non-humans, the concept of theft, indeed, of right and wrong, make little sense. In the natural world the attributes of justice and right-or-wrong differ substantially.
      It is thanks to the gifts of the human brain that we understand this role. With our understanding comes the sense of the ethical, of justice. For good or ill, politics plays a significant part in what our civilizations deem just and unjust.
      Ultimately, no society, no civilization can long endure if unjust. The yearning for justice is held within the deepest part of our soul; it is the truest part of our nature. I believe this heritage is a large part of how of emotional intelligence evolved as humankind crossed the millennia.

Following the Narrow Trail

Injustices stew in the venom of immoderation
and toxins of intolerance. Justice snakes narrow trails
along steep cliffsides; civilizations that fail
these fragile ways annihilate their core.

When we understand our personalities by acknowledging
tendencies and impulses, we move toward balance.
Dwelling upon inner realities, facing our hidden prejudices,
we stride toward the honor of equanimity, the dawn of reason.

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Copyright 2005, Gary Kline 451

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.	What is fair? or not-fair? Wrong? or right? Of all the human inventions, the concept of the fair and just stands out as leading points of ethics. I realized this late one morning watching two birds in our back yard. One bird dropped something from its beak and an instant later another bird swooped down out of nowhere and "stole" the dropped morsel. Of course, among non-humans, the concept of theft, indeed, of right and wrong, make little sense. In the natural world the attributes of justice and right-or-wrong differ substantially. It is thanks to the gifts of the human brain that we understand this role. With our understanding comes the sense of the ethical, of justice. For good or ill, politics plays a significant part in what our civilizations deem just and unjust. Ultimately, no society, no civilization can long endure if unjust. The yearning for justice is held within the deepest part of our soul; it is the truest part of our nature. I believe this heritage is a large part of how of emotional intelligence evolved as humankind crossed the millennia. Following the Narrow Trail Injustices stew in the venom of immoderation and toxins of intolerance. Justice snakes narrow trails along steep cliffsides; civilizations that fail these fragile ways annihilate their core. When we understand our personalities by acknowledging tendencies and impulses, we move toward balance. Dwelling upon inner realities, facing our hidden prejudices, we stride toward the honor of equanimity, the dawn of reason.	.