In order for the law to bring about justice, it must be applied equally. No one can be exempt from the application of the law from the highest halls of power to the humblest outposts of poverty. Without the assurance of equal application, the law ceases to be an instrument of justice and becomes a tool of oppression. The law can be a powerful and just instrument for a peacemaker, but only when the law written in the books reflects the law written on the hearts. The law loses its ability to resolve matters peacefully when it does not reflect the basic sense of fairness which every person shares. Without the force of this shared sense of fairness, the law is only upheld by the force of its adjudicators, and is too easily twisted from an instrument of justice to an instrument of personal gain.
