Who are the Arbiters of Justice?

“The caged bird sings with a fearful trill

of things unknown but longed for still

and his tune is heard on the distant hill

for the caged bird sings of freedom.”

These words make up the refrain of seminal poet Maya Angelou’s classic poem “Caged Bird,” published in 1983 in her fourth poetry volume, Shaker, Why Don’t You Sing? In a beautiful melancholy lament, Angelou articulates the root of every evil and injustice- and implies the imperative that good men have to correct it. What, then, is this grievous sin? What is the essence of injustice? Freedom- or the deprivation of it.

Angelou compares the “caged bird” with the “free bird,” noting the carefree lifestyle and whimsical observances that the free bird may attend- or not- to further the point that the world, and all that’s in it, belongs to the free. The caged bird, by comparison, sings “of things unknown but longed for still.” The caged bird has no specific knowledge of sighing trees or fat worms on a vast field, but knows nevertheless that he is being deprived of the wonders of the universe.

Justice and Freedom are inextricably linked, and each’s nature informs the definition of the other’s. When distilled to its primal essence, all injustice is the deprivation of freedom. It follows, then, that in a world so often called “unjust,” we must examine the prevalence of freedom and do all we can to protect it. But how do we convert such cosmic concepts into our daily lives? How can we, as individuals, protect justice and promote freedom?

We all have a surprising superpower that most of us never take the time to consider. With a little bit of will (and a considerably greater degree of contempt), we can with a second’s thought create a personal hell for ourselves to enjoy, and that we can inflict on others around us. Pettiness, greed, disdain, narcissism, selfishness, and hate hardly describe the beginner’s set of tools we can too comfortably wield to shape the universe around us. When calibrated properly, the tendrils of our malice can easily start to restrict the freedom of others. A cruel word or unkind act- especially a willful one- leaves a type of scar that can wound the ambition, will, or capability of another. By depriving others of their confidence, self esteem, and contact with virtue, we constrain their freedom to be themselves- in a way, trapping them in a cage.

Fortunately, we have another superpower, too. With the same amount of will (and a considerably greater degree of esteem), we can with a second’s thought create a Xanadu projecting outwardly and inviting those around us to share in the hope that it fosters. We can choose to carry ourselves with dignity, even in the face of our adversaries, and through kindness, empathy, and consideration, armor those around us against the bonds of injustice by bolstering the most important entitlement, right, and gift we are all given- the right to self identity.

Injustice can take many forms, but it is always derived from the goal of depriving freedom. The way to combat injustice then is not only through action, but through philosophy. If we decide to value freedom for ourselves, then we must value it for others. Alice Carry makes this point eloquently in her 1849 poem, “Nobility:”

"We get back our mete as we measure—

We cannot do wrong and feel right,

Nor can we give pain and gain pleasure,

For justice avenges each slight.

The air for the wing of the sparrow,

The bush for the robin and wren,

But always the path that is narrow

And straight, for the children of men."