Michael Dorris The Myth Of Justice

In Michael Dorris's, “The Myth of Justice,” Dorris argues sardonically that justice is a human-created myth that almost everyone believes in. He says that humans hold out for an eventual happy ending, even though that happy ending isn't actually guaranteed. Dorris goes on to say that people believe in justice in the way they believe in religion:by being a good person, good things will come to you. The author, however, thinks that is incorrect. He points out that this idea is based not on fact, but on hope.

Dorris goes on to point out that people are astonished when things don't go the way they think they should have. When the bad guy gets away with the crime, people are outraged. Dorris believes that people assume that justice should

have been served because justice is ultimately what people believe to be true.

Dorris brings up the controversial idea that humans want to be proven wrong.

People want to find out that the world isn't a bad place where many tragedies occur. Dorris says that adults want to go back to their childhood innocence, and they want that innocence to be their reality. Because, as the author points out, people haven't gotten exactly what they deserved in the history of mankind. But Dorris cynically says that there's still that blind hope called justice that keeps human beings certain that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Dorris writes about the idea that people stick to wishful thought instead of basing their beliefs on fact. People follow unnecessary patterns in order to get their desired endpoint, and if they do not get what they wanted they blame it on themselves. Dorris writes that in life, people think that if they follow the correct steps to be a good person, they will get their desired endpoint:heaven.

But, as the author says, society may fall without the concept of justice. The hope justice brings with it is what Dorris thinks keeps people optimistic enough to keep the world going. They may blame themselves for any faults the world has, but they work even harder afterwards to fix their mistake. Dorris believes that justice is a myth, but it may be a necessary

one.

Dorris says that Christianity is structured, and those who believe in it want a more structured society. People want the rules and regulations of the bible because it's what they think God would want. Though, as Dorris writes, there are religions with a completely different outlook. There are religions with a more creative outlook on what the world should be like. But justice provides structure that may, as Dorris alludes, be necessary for the world. When structure breaks down, Dorris says that people think it's their own fault, not the world's and not justice's. Humans are quick to blame themselves even when it may be the idea of justice that harmed them in the first place.