Establishing a Singular Standard of Justice

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Ambiguity is a natural part of life. Rarely is there ever a singular, definitive answer for anything. Justice is no exception. There is not one standard of justice: there are many. The standard can depend on history, on culture, on theology, or a variety of other factors. As different groups come together, though, having different standards of justice becomes a problem. The Oresteia, a three-part play by Aeschylus, and Death in Gaza, a film by James Miller, both showcase a struggle between two different standards of justice and the difficulty in reconciling such dissimilar ideals. Meanwhile, the clashes of conflicting standards of justice yield sadness, anger, despair, and death, thus highlighting the need to reconcile those ideas in some way. Reconciliation, though not portrayed as an easy objective to accomplish, is shown as a worthwhile endeavor. Though difficult to do, mutual acts of compromise are needed to resolve conflicts and create an established and agreeable standard of justice.

In the Oresteia, the conflict over the standard of justice of blood right has the characters struggling to administer proper justice. Clytemnestra’s killing of her husband Agamemnon falls in line with natural, maternal blood right, as she is administering justice unto Agamemnon for killing her daughter and disturbing the sacred bond between mother and child. However, Clytemnestra’s stance on blood right comes into conflict with her son’s stance. Orestes does agree with his mother’s perceived act of justice; instead, he sees it as an act that must be avenged. Orestes administers his own form of justice unto his mother by killing her as she had violated his societal, paternal blood right to his father with her murderous ways. Even the gods view ...

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... land-holding faction must be made to allow the other group to have something to make them complacent with the decision. Though surely more simplistic in theory than in reality, if there is hope for peace in the Gaza Strip, compromises must be made by both parties.

In conflicts ranging from the fables of ancient Greece to the wars of the Middle East today, compromise is a necessary part of meaningful reconciliation of different standards of justice. Though difficult, the rewards of establishing a singular standard of justice allow a society to unite behind a single principle and maintain fairness inclusive to all citizens. Not all conflicts of justice follow this model for success, though. Only time will tell if Israel and Palestine will follow the Oresteia and its model for compromise, or if justice in the region will continue to be a deadly, ambiguous concept.

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