justice or kindness

When watching this 1935 version of "Les Miserables", whenever Javert appeared on the screen, the classmates around him made a sound of contempt and scolding. Everyone thought Javert was too stubborn, too stubborn to accept. Compared with Jean Valjean's tolerance, this stubbornness is even more unforgivable. The background of Javert in the film is very little (as is the original book), only that Javert's father served in the boat and his mother was a prostitute. Javert once said that although his parents belonged to an inferior class, he was determined to break away from that class and devote himself to the maintenance of legal justice. Perhaps because of his life experience, Javert felt the evil nature of human beings. In order not to be discriminated against because of his life experience, he used a firm legal view to implement life to win respect. In Javert's creed, human nature is inherently evil, and people cannot atone for their sins through their own efforts. Once they make mistakes, they must be punished, and nothing can offset them. Kindness is the root of human mistakes. This belief became increasingly unbalanced as he grew up.
In France in the 19th century, the criminal law was particularly severe, and every move was the death penalty. Jean Valjean was also sentenced to ten years for stealing a piece of bread (this was based on real cases at the time). Such a criminal law system reflects the fact that people at that time focused more on the fear of consequences in the prevention and control of crimes, while neglecting to analyze the motives and root causes of crimes, and at the same time, they lacked a lot of moral and human care. Javert's excessive obsession with the law just reflected the loopholes in the legal system at that time. But can a criminal be forgiven of his previous sins because of his spiritual creation? Does justice in the face of mercy really seem a bit stubborn? In the 1998 version of "Les Miserables", the director simply focused on the contradiction between Jean Valjean and Javert, making the audience think about which justice and mercy should dominate life. Javert committed suicide. On the surface, it seems that Hugo has given mercy to victory, but does this society really need a little Javert's spirit of law enforcement?
The new traffic regulations adopted by the state on May 1 stipulate that drunk driving will be dealt with by criminal law, that is, no matter if you are drunk and hit someone or not, if you have an accident or not, as long as you are drunk driving, you will be punished. Many people think the ordinance is too harsh and unnatural, as most people seem to have experienced drunk driving. But as more and more drunk driving accidents happen and become more and more destructive, ordinary people hate drunk driving. More and more lessons have been learned, but the accidents still keep going. And this kind of severe measures relying on punishment can indeed effectively reduce the phenomenon of drunk driving. Although the issue of drunk driving is still controversial, it can be seen that a society needs a rigid rule to check and balance people's social behavior, and the binding force of morality is often less effective than the law. Recently, Gao Xiaosong's sentencing decision also shows that the people cannot escape the checks and balances of the law. In the case of Yao Jiaxin, the court finally sentenced him to death. In the face of the cry of the victim's family, it is not your sympathy and comfort that can heal the wound, nor is it that forgiveness and tolerance of the perpetrator can prevent the minor from getting worse. In many cases, killing chickens to warn monkeys can better maintain a good social order.
Of course, every law needs to be improved because of its complexity, but since there are rules, they must be strictly followed, otherwise society will have no basis, and kindness will appear very humble.
The days of "Les Miserables" are over, but the topic of justice and benevolence continues. The world would be a better place because of people like Jean Valjean, but society would be less stable without people like Javert. This is the same as the debate. There is no extreme explanation for who is right and who is wrong. Only by balancing the relationship between them in specific matters and allowing legal principles to be accommodated will society be more harmonious.

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