From my perspective,
“just education” has something more to do with “just citizens” than “just
laws”, because I agree with Thomas Hobbes’ claim that “Laws that are meant to
assure justice, often result in injustice.”.
Oftentimes,
laws are tools for the upperclass to protect their own benefits. Those poor
people who cannot afford a lawyer actually have difficulties in protecting
their rights in the court. In this way, with the help of a sophisticated and
expensive lawyer, it is easy for those in power to take the laws into their own
hands and laws can be used to the detriment of social justice.
For example,
in China, 2009, when a wealthy street-car racer who knocked down and killed a
young man from modest origins got a lenient punishment due to the disclosure
that his rich family used money and connections to help lighten the crime, it
ignited the flames of class injustice that resonated among millions of Chinese.
Internet was filled with blogs buzzed with angry posts like “See how rich
parents are going to resolve this for their son”.
Even worse,
photos circulating online showed that the troublemaker Mr. Hu sat in the car
with his face buried in his hands, his friends smoked cigarettes and joked
around when the police and ambulance crews arrived at the scene. It sparked a
furor of angry comments by Chinese readers outraged at the callous behavior
depicted in the pictures.
There are
“just laws” in China which are supposed to protect the right of every citizen,
whereas, Mr. Hu is not a “just citizen” as expected. What he lacks is “just
education”. He has become a symbol of rich second-generation, who grew up as
“little emperors” and are perceived to live in a protected cocoon, subject to
different standards of justice than others. His family never taught him how to
treat others with dignity and respect --- the “just and civil education”, which
is considered as the essential of justice. It is just the lack of this “just
education” that makes it difficult for the nation to use laws to help make its
citizens good and just.
All in all,
“just education”, which serves as the bridge between “just law” and “just
citizens”, should be put to high priority. Since with comprehensive “just
education”, “just citizens” is just a natural outcome of “just laws”.
