What seems fair enough against a squalid huckster of bad liquor may take on a different face, if used by a government determined to suppress political opposition under the guise of sedition.
Interpretation
The quote highlights how fairness can be perceived differently depending on the context, especially when power is misused under the pretense of justice.
Learned Hand's quote reflects the complexity of justice and fairness, illustrating that the intentions behind actions can significantly alter their ethical implications. What may initially seem justifiable against a minor wrongdoer, like a dishonest liquor seller, can take on a troubling and potentially oppressive nature when employed by a government to silence dissent. This serves as a reminder to critically evaluate the motives behind those in power and to understand that the concept of fairness is often subjective and can be manipulated.
In practice
In a discussion about government overreach during a political debate.
"I beseech ye in the bowels of Christ, think that ye may be mistaken." I should like to have that written over the portals of every church, every school, and every courthouse, and, may I say, of every legislative body in the United States. I should like to have every court begin, "I beseech ye in the bowels of Christ, think that we may be mistaken."
The language of the law must not be foreign to the ears of those who are to obey it.
I shall ask no more than that you agree with Dean Inge that even though counting heads is not an ideal way to govern, at least it is better than breaking them.
As soon as we cease to pry about at random, we shall come to rely upon accredited bodies of authoritative dogma; and as soon as we come to rely upon accredited bodies of authoritative dogma, not only are the days of our liberty over, but we have lost the password that has hitherto opened to us the gates of success as well.
What to an outsider will be no more than the vigorous presentation of a conviction, to an employee may be the manifestation of a determination which it is not safe to thwart.
The spirit of liberty is the spirit of him who, near two thousand years ago, taught mankind that lesson it has never learned ... .
Reality is a question of perspective; the further you get from the past, the more concrete and plausible it seems - but as you approach the present, it inevitably seems more and more incredible.
Our bodies and minds evolved and were adapted for hundreds of thousands of years for tasks like climbing a tree and picking apples, or hunting rabbits, or looking for mushrooms in the forest. They were not adapted to the very gruelling work that is involved in field work - ploughing, harvesting, bringing water, digging weeds - things like that.
She was here on earth to make sense of its wild enchantments.
There were times that I thought I was good looking.
I am this fiery snail crawling home.
Dream delivers us to dream, and there is no end to illusion. Life is like a train of moods like a string of beads, and, as we pass through them, they prove to be many-colored lenses which paint the world their own hue. . . .
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.