We wanted justice for them. Logic now asks what happens when the same standard looks at us.
So far, we have agreed on three things: reality is structured by the laws of logic; some things are truly, objectively evil; and a universe with real moral law cannot end at the grave. Justice requires more than this short life can deliver.
This is where most people want to get off the ride. But logic demands consistency. We cannot hold tyrants and child abusers to an Absolute Standard of Good while quietly assuming that the same Standard does not apply to us.
The mind, desperate to keep its dignity, plays its favorite defense:
“Okay, those men are monsters. But I am not like them. I am a good person. I haven’t murdered anyone. I am better than that.”
On the surface, that sounds reasonable. But there is a fatal logical error hiding inside it.
To escape that Void, we already acknowledged that an Absolute Standard of Good exists. An Absolute Standard is not graded on a curve.
Let’s stop looking at “them” and look at the Standard. Let’s test our defense against the Standard of Absolute Good. I am not your accuser, so I will answer these questions about myself. Read along and be honest. An Absolute Standard is not a gray area; we either meet it, or we do not.
The Truth Audit – Have I ever lied?
Yes. I have twisted reality to protect myself, to look better, or to avoid consequences.
Verdict: I am a Liar.
The Property Audit – Have I ever stolen?
Yes. Whether it was something small, an idea, or taking credit that was not mine, I have taken what did not belong to me.
Verdict: I am a Thief.
The Sexual Audit – Have I ever reduced another person to a body in my imagination?
Yes. I have used someone in my mind for my own amusement. I stripped them of their full humanity to turn them into fuel for fantasy. I committed the act in the only place I knew I could get away with it—my imagination.
If the only reason I did not act it out physically was fear of consequences, that does not make me “pure”; it makes me a Cowardly Adulterer.
Verdict: I am a Cowardly Adulterer.
The Malice Audit – Have I ever hated or held a grudge?
Yes. In my mind, I have wished someone did not exist, or enjoyed the thought of their humiliation or suffering. That is the seed of murder.
If the only reason that person is still breathing is fear of prison or backlash, that does not make me “civilized”; it makes me a Cowardly Murderer.
Verdict: I am a Cowardly Murderer.
The Courage Audit – Have I ever stayed silent when I knew I should have spoken?
Yes. I have chosen my comfort and safety over truth and justice. I have watched from the sidelines when I knew I should have stood up.
My lack of action does not make me a neutral bystander; it makes me a Coward.
Verdict: I am a Coward.
Though the logic is brute and objective, we are not robots. Seeing ourselves clearly for the first time can be devastating. I take no pleasure in this. I am not standing above you; I am writing this from the cell next to yours. I am guilty of every charge listed above.
But a doctor who hides a terminal diagnosis is not “nice”; he is a monster. Concealing the truth is cowardice disguised as kindness. A comforting lie is not love. Love is truth.
The evidence removes the comfortable title of “Good Person.” The Audit reveals that we are, by our own honest answers, liars, thieves, adulterers, murderers, and cowards.
Legally and logically, under the Standard we have already accepted, we are guilty.
This step does not yet ask what the Judge will do. It simply follows the logic: if there is an Absolute Standard of Good and a real Moral Law, and if we have broken it, then we are not merely people who “sometimes mess up.” We are convicted lawbreakers in need of something more than self‑improvement.