“Why Do We Care About Justice if Morality is Just Made Up?”

Everyone says they care about justice.
But not everyone agrees on what it is—or where it comes from.

We live in a world full of moral slogans:

“Do the right thing.”
“Love is love.”
“No justice, no peace.”
“Don’t force your beliefs on others.”

And underneath all of them is a quiet assumption:

Morality is real—but personal.

Each person has to “live their truth.”
Each culture “defines its own values.”
No one has the right to judge.

Sounds nice, right?

But then… someone lies to you.
Or cheats you.
Or abuses someone you love.
And suddenly, moral relativism isn’t poetic anymore. It’s offensive.

Because deep down, you don’t just think some things are wrong for you.
You think they’re wrong—period.

So here’s the question:

If morality is made up…
Why do we care so much?

The Moral Intuition No One Can Shake

Try as we might to flatten morality into taste, instinct, or cultural preference—none of us live that way.

You don’t say:

“Murder? Not for me, but hey, different strokes.”
“Slavery is wrong in our society, but maybe okay in others.”
“Torturing kids? Who’s to say?”

You might say it in a philosophy class.
But not in a courtroom.
Not at a funeral.
Not when your sister is assaulted.
Not when the injustice is real.

Because when something evil happens, we don’t call it “socially inconvenient.”
We call it wrong—as if there’s a standard above all of us.

Relativism tells you to shrug.
But your soul won’t let you.

Relativism Works Until Something Hurts

Moral relativism is fine when you’re talking about:

Coffee preferences
Fashion trends
Cultural quirks
Mild internet arguments

But not when the stakes are high.

Ask any victim of real injustice:

The wrongfully imprisoned
The trafficked and enslaved
The child abandoned by a parent
The person betrayed by someone they trusted

Do you think they believe morality is just socially constructed?

They don’t want “what’s right for you.”
They want justice.

Relativism dies the second you suffer.
Because suffering demands a verdict.

Without a Moral Law, Justice Is Just Power

If there’s no objective morality, then justice is just a word we use to decorate our preferences.

Without a standard outside of us:

Martin Luther King Jr. was just imposing one culture’s values on another.
Civil rights were just a fad.
Human dignity is just a mood.
Justice is whatever the strongest people decide it is.

Without a real moral law, you can’t say “that’s wrong”—you can only say “I don’t like that.”

And who cares what you like?

You Can’t Borrow Morality Without Owning the Source

Relativists still use moral language:

“It’s wrong to discriminate.”
“Everyone deserves respect.”
“Don’t judge others.”

But these claims assume a moral framework.

You can’t say, “There’s no such thing as right or wrong—but you should treat people better.”

That’s like saying, “There’s no such thing as gravity—but don’t jump off the roof.”

If you want moral outrage, moral beauty, or moral truth…
you need moral foundations.

And “personal preference” doesn’t cut it.

The Ache Is Real—But Is the Foundation?

You care about justice.
You know some things are wrong.
You believe some things are good.

So what are you standing on?

If morality is just made up, your deepest convictions are accidents.
If morality is real, then it’s pointing to something bigger than you.