“Millstones of the gods grind slowly, but they grind exceeding fine” is a phrase familiar to many of us. It comes from both ancient and modern contexts. The meaning can either comfort or threaten. The justice of the gods will eventually finish its work.
We have become impatient and hurry justice. Relatives, friends and associates of anyone abused or killed call out for justice for the victim. Some shout for justice while occupying streets and campus buildings. Some leaders, even religious leaders, have taken up the threat option, “No peace without justice.” An old principle that “justice delayed is justice denied” describes their current situation: “Delayed justice means injustice, debasement, and slavery for me and mine.”
A more nuanced call is for restorative justice. Restoring the social contract of our democracy of equal rights for all is one interpretation. Another, popular public interpretation is the need to “correct ancient wrongs.” Allied political proposals are for reparations, which in some contexts means, “Give me what you have for distribution to my identity group followers.”
Politicians regularly promise to impose acts of justice immediately to assuage whatever pressure group of supporters they happen to address. Some people argue that political opponents or people unlike us should be imprisoned and punished soon. Patience has vanished.
Arguments that display little definition of what justice means are intense. Perhaps we can agree that justice means something different in dictatorships and monarchies than in a democracy.
Democracies establish principles and procedures. American democratic principles flow from Enlightenment propositions: all people are created with inalienable equal rights; the function of government is to protect and extend those rights equally to every individual; authority arises from the people; government is for and by the people.
Democratic countries have legal procedures that vary from country to country. In France the legal procedure is that an accused persons must prove their innocence; also, a person can be found guilty of slandering a group. In the United States, the procedure is that accused persons are innocent until proven guilty, and a person cannot be found guilty of slandering a group. Procedures change involving debates about slandering or abuse that become entangled with interpretations of freedom of speech as a fundamental right.
An expansion of the statement that the millstones of the gods grind slowly is found in the caution: “Justice runs slowly when it has to churn through people.” Our judicial system involves individuals of varied ability and commitment to democratic procedures and established procedures. Our founders understood the imperfection of individuals and groups, which is why they established a complex system of checks and balances. Otherwise, efforts to establish or maintain justice are thwarted.
Responses to confusion and tensions are best attempted locally. As a first step, we can initiate discussions with our fellow citizens, including those with differing viewpoints, experiences, and commitments. It is wise not to begin with discussion of specific actions, but rather with basic principles upon which our national and state governments are based. We seek points where there is overlap and some agreement might be reached. Then, we can focus on those. We can then discuss procedures in our civic order that can support those principles, remembering that both federal procedures and state procedures are in force.
We should then support those individuals, leaders, and institutions that seem best to advance positive principles and procedures. We can continue to maintain relationships with different groups and continue discussions and, perhaps, discover and implement solutions to our current problems. We might be sheltered from some of the national and international turmoil that is inevitable in 2025.
Raymond Brady Williams, Crawfordsville, LaFollette Distinguished Professor in the Humanities emeritus, contributed this guest column.
