The BigLie

    "Don't you understand?", he asked, contemptuously furrowing his brow.  "... that the truth is, its all a big lie.  It doesn't matter that the facts and the law are on your side."  David stormed out of the dirty marble hall shaking his head in resignation; it killed him to see that stunned, frightened look of desperation on his client's face.  He'd seen it so many times before while attempting to explain, with reason and insight, why it wasn't reasonable to expect justice; why justice was only an occasional, almost arbitrary outcome.  He felt like a father explaining the myth of Santa Claus to blissful children.  It was a difficult pill for all of them to swallow.  They looked so confused, almost hurt.  Like David was trying to mislead them or make excuses for his own shortcomings, or worse, take something precious away from them.  They suspected his words and his motives; this pissed David off ... that his integrity was drawn into question because of a system’s contempt.  Was David right, after his ten years of practice, or was what they had been taught right?  

    David's words contradicted everything his client had been taught to believe in as a child ... that justice exists, that the facts and the law are what matters, that judges are honorable, reliable people of integrity, that the system serves an important purpose and solves real problems.  Was reality really that different?  How could it be that after he had worked so hard for so long, striving to be honorable and productive, and good at what he did, how could it be that to acknowledge his chosen profession invited scoffing and derision?

    It was depressing.

 

Copyright © 2006, ProBizWriters.com LLC, All rights reserved.  The foregoing is part of a book I started writing more than 10 years ago.  Interesting?