My quest for truth and justice is an evolving process.

We all want to see justice done—we want life to be fair. But as humans, we often think we’re seeking justice when what we’re actually striving for is self-validation, masquerading as justice.

Let’s unpack what that means.

Opinions are like belly buttons—everyone’s got one—but facts are facts, and something is either true or not true. We may disagree on whether or not we’re having good weather, but we can’t argue about the color of the sky. 

There can be no justice without truth. We need the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, or our verdict will most likely be flawed.

And to complicate things further, truth is not always obvious. Sometimes it unfolds slowly.

It’s very human to pursue comfort, to seek to bend and reshape facts in order make them fit with, and reaffirm, our preconceived beliefs and opinions. But, that’s like setting out on a journey via treadmill.

Comfort is … well … comforting. We’re wired to seek comfort—it’s a survival instinct. To challenge the things that we think we know is uncomfortable; to challenge our deep seated beliefs can be downright terrifying. But we enter a danger zone when we pursue comfort as our primary goal. When self-gratification is our primary objective, we’re living an egocentric life that leads us to make choices that are not always just, choices that often bring us satisfaction but that come at the expense of someone else. 

As for belief…It’s humbling to remember that we can’t spell belief without l-i-e. We can all be passionate about the teachings of our individual religions (including the religion of atheism), but often those teachings are in direct conflict with each other. So like it or not, we have to accept that belief, no matter how much it feels like absolute truth, is belief, not truth.

And so I don’t want to believe; I want to know. It’s good to be comfortable, but I’m not questing for validation or justification; I want information, comprehension, realization, elevation, and emancipation from illusion, even when it’s scary, even when it threatens everything I think I know.

At least that’s what I aspire to … I’m also human …

And Torah doesn’t tell us to pursue comfort. Torah tells us, “Justice, justice you will pursue.”

So … keeping in mind that the nature of truth, or at least our understanding of it, is dependent upon available information, we have to realize that the pursuit of truth and justice is a never-ending battle, even for Superman.

But, we’re human and we’re imperfect. Going back to the analogy of the color of the sky, what if I were colorblind? If I’d been born with tritanopia, I’d look up and see those fluffy white clouds decorating a lovely green sky. That would be my honest truth. So, we have to accept that there’s subjective truth—human truth, and absolute truth—God truth. With our limited scope, the only way we can be completely honest is to always remain open to receiving more information and to always be ready to refine what we know as truth.

And yet, all this makes me wonder—is the pursuit of truth and justice enough? Can truth and justice alone heal our troubled world? I think the answer is, no. As noble a quest as this is, I think healing comes from a place that’s beyond what’s “fair.” Truth and justice are intellectual concepts. And we are more than our minds; we are body, mind, heart, and soul. We can’t climb a ladder that doesn’t stand on four balanced legs.

Therefore … before truth makes an enthusiastic, swords-clashing beeline to Justice, it needs to take a pause and slip on the rose-colored glasses of Love and Compassion.

Without Love and Compassion, we risk truth and justice becoming self-righteousness and zealotry. Love and Compassion are the parents of Mercy. Without Mercy, our Justice becomes a cold and evil thing.

We need justice—it’s what gives structure to the universe, it is its skeleton, as it were—but love is the glue that holds the universe together. Love is its ligaments and tendons, those things that make movement possible, without which those rigid bones would lose their integrity and fall into a pointless heap.

Truth is paramount and Justice must be pursued, but it’s not enough to be fair. We need to see the Beauty. We need to see the seed of Love, the “Hand of the Creator” that lies within every being and every thing.

The world needs Kindness.

Ultimately, the pursuit of Truth and Justice should lead to Joy. If it doesn’t, we’ve missed the signs and taken a wrong turn.

 Life is so fragile, so often fraught. We’re all in it together, so let’s agree to be gentle with one another, to boost each other up, and to help each other along the way.