Yashodhan Nighoskar

18010722

“It is in the middle, that extremes clash and ambiguity restlessly rules”

- John Updike (American

Novelist)

The teachings of Buddha encourage us to investigate and penetrate the core of life in an
upright and unbiased attitude. He believed in finding a middle ground of tranquillity and
contentment between the two extremes. The middle way involves a conscious attempt to
move towards homeostasis by balancing judgements .The “Middle Way”, as described by
Buddha, is a balanced approach to whatever conditions we encounter. Regardless of the
situations we find ourselves in, the teachings mentioned in “Middle Way” can be applied
even if we are a long way from the state of homeostasis.

The movie “… And Justice For All”, portrays many characters drifting away from
‘homeostasis’ towards a state of ‘inflammation’. Judge Fleming, for example was an
intransigent and unrelenting man who always adhered to the word of the statute. Such was his
strict adherence to the letter of the law, that he allowed an innocent young man to serve a
year in prison, simply because the proof of his innocence came in late.

Another character who was far from his stable state of mind was Arthur’s partner, Jay Porter.
He was conscience-struck of acquitting a criminal who was responsible for the murder of
three other people. From shaving himself bald to throwing plates in the courtroom’s hallway,
Porter was slowly being driven to insanity .

Then there was Jeff McCullaugh who was wrongly convicted of a crime by Judge Fleming.
Jeff was physically and sexually assaulted by other inmates in jail . This made him go berserk
to such an extent that he held prison guards hostage at gunpoint for a mere block of free
space. Stuck in a similar situation was Ralph Agee, who committed suicide by hanging
himself. This was because Arthur’s colleague had failed to provide a corrected probation
sheet. As a result, the Judge sentenced Ralph to jail time. The Judiciary System had failed
both Jeff and Ralph which made them take drastic decisions which further drove them away
from homeostasis.
Towards the end of the movie, Arthur Kirkland, the protagonist, was compelled to move
away from the state of homeostasis as his inner morals got the better of him. As a result, he
casts aside his client, Justice Fleming’s threats to his career and denounces him guilty of rape.

The title “ And Justice for All” seemingly feels ironical towards the end of the movie as
viewers are left to contemplate whether there was any actual deliverance of justice. It is the
ability of power and money that distorts the pursuit of justice.

In “Politics and the English language”, George Orwell claimed that language if used
acrimoniously can yield undesirable results. He encouraged concreteness and clarity over
vagueness and ambiguity. However, it was the ambiguous language that led to the death of
Ralph Agee. His probation sheet was filled with errors which indirectly became the cause of
his death. It was the language of law that led to the acquittal of Jay Porter’s client who
further went on to murder more people.

In conclusion, if we were to continue living a life where law and language are constantly
exploited by the men in power, then we would be sentenced to live a life of inflammation.