The man who tried to blow up the universe will teach you about JUSTICE
Who: Cyrus, Jupiter, anyone who still takes this goddamn class
What: Another ethics class--this one a bit more on-topic than the last
Where: Regular place
When: Monday, 1 pm
Warnings: Jupiter can and will threadjack at any given time. That's her job. Be nice to the teacher's aide...or else.
Promptly at the hour, Cyrus closed the door. There wasn't any cause to guard the room, as anyone who misbehaved would face his officer. She was sitting on his desk, legs crossed at the knees, looking out over the room.
He took in the sight of his students as they stared at her, at their desks, out the window...Yet he would command their attention soon enough.
"Class, this is Jupiter. She will assist me in my duties as your teacher. That said, today we will discuss more...practical ethics. Perhaps the previous lesson was beyond your scope..."
He walked to the front center of the room and cleared his throat before starting. "We are from varied places, some from other worlds entirely...Yet one thing we all have in common is that we are, wherever we go, bound by the law of the land. Laws are as disparate as those who occupy those lands. In some you may tithe to the king or religious leader. In another you may be required to serve in the military. In another you may have your reading material censored before it reaches you... They will claim that all laws are in the best interests of the people. However, clearly, this cannot be true in all cases."
There, Cyrus started to pace as usual. "How do we determine what is a just law? Is it action? Intent? The end result? If the king demands money to build infrastructure, it is clearly not the same as if he demands it for himself."
His head tilted, eyes unfixing as he spoke. "There are situations where even the most justifiable law must be broken. The traditional example presents a starving child who steals a loaf of bread. Setting aside for the moment the social troubles that must plague that area for that scenario to occur, ought the child be punished for theft when it was an act of survival? Ought the merchant surrender the loaf knowing that it will lessen her profit and cut into her own survival?"
He had to clear his throat again; his voice was beginning to rasp. While he was technically well, there were lingering details of his illness. "There are...risks involved in opposing unjust law. Any who protect their greed do so irrationally, and are often violent in doing so. And yet those injustices cannot be permitted to exist. They, simply, must be opposed. But is there too great a cost in the act of opposition? Where do we draw the line? What must inspire us to be willing to lay down our lives for the greater good?"
Glancing to Jupiter for a moment, but not long enough to catch her expression, he finished with "And of course, the overarching question of what must be done to establish true justice in the world...but that is for another time. For now, in order to see the big picture, we must consider what stands between us."
What: Another ethics class--this one a bit more on-topic than the last
Where: Regular place
When: Monday, 1 pm
Warnings: Jupiter can and will threadjack at any given time. That's her job. Be nice to the teacher's aide...or else.
Promptly at the hour, Cyrus closed the door. There wasn't any cause to guard the room, as anyone who misbehaved would face his officer. She was sitting on his desk, legs crossed at the knees, looking out over the room.
He took in the sight of his students as they stared at her, at their desks, out the window...Yet he would command their attention soon enough.
"Class, this is Jupiter. She will assist me in my duties as your teacher. That said, today we will discuss more...practical ethics. Perhaps the previous lesson was beyond your scope..."
He walked to the front center of the room and cleared his throat before starting. "We are from varied places, some from other worlds entirely...Yet one thing we all have in common is that we are, wherever we go, bound by the law of the land. Laws are as disparate as those who occupy those lands. In some you may tithe to the king or religious leader. In another you may be required to serve in the military. In another you may have your reading material censored before it reaches you... They will claim that all laws are in the best interests of the people. However, clearly, this cannot be true in all cases."
There, Cyrus started to pace as usual. "How do we determine what is a just law? Is it action? Intent? The end result? If the king demands money to build infrastructure, it is clearly not the same as if he demands it for himself."
His head tilted, eyes unfixing as he spoke. "There are situations where even the most justifiable law must be broken. The traditional example presents a starving child who steals a loaf of bread. Setting aside for the moment the social troubles that must plague that area for that scenario to occur, ought the child be punished for theft when it was an act of survival? Ought the merchant surrender the loaf knowing that it will lessen her profit and cut into her own survival?"
He had to clear his throat again; his voice was beginning to rasp. While he was technically well, there were lingering details of his illness. "There are...risks involved in opposing unjust law. Any who protect their greed do so irrationally, and are often violent in doing so. And yet those injustices cannot be permitted to exist. They, simply, must be opposed. But is there too great a cost in the act of opposition? Where do we draw the line? What must inspire us to be willing to lay down our lives for the greater good?"
Glancing to Jupiter for a moment, but not long enough to catch her expression, he finished with "And of course, the overarching question of what must be done to establish true justice in the world...but that is for another time. For now, in order to see the big picture, we must consider what stands between us."