The development in perception over time
Time is a powerful thing. Be it knowledge and experience or insight, all undergo significant changes with time. However, it depends on the individual to choose the direction and nature of growth. I have hated corruption and violence since I was a child. Such immoral practices are worth avoiding no matter which era you live in. But yes, our mind changes with time and we think differently about why these evils exist. And how to fight evils also changes with time. In childhood, one usually expresses his/her thoughts regarding the important political or spiritual issues in front of others with confidence. But later one gets ashamed of what they said in childhood and regret in later life, though with a smile. I remember one of such incidences. Once there was a competition in eighth grade in which we were asked to explain about how to handle corruption and violence in the world. I gave a short speech in full spirits in front of my classmates which they liked. Even my teacher did not point out any mistake but only told, “You are full of rage. But I wish some of your ideas change.”
Before I explain what major changes my understanding underwent with time, I would like to share the speech here. It was not only full of grammatical mistakes but also had significant flaws in concepts.
“Good morning to all of you! I am ‘name’. I would like to express what I feel about corruption and violence. Look around, friends! We are surrounded by corrupt people.
I have seen my friends cheat in exam and will not name them here in front of teachers. I have seen how strong high-schoolers bully us, call us nerds and even hit us. On larger level i.e. national or international, millions of bucks are getting stolen or misused by politicians for their personal benefits. But sadly, that money was supposed to aid facilities for public, not the politicians and dishonest officers. Corruption is hampering our growth. When it comes to violence, we are living in fear. You don’t know if you are going to reach home back safely. From buses to schools, malls to parks, every place is prone to bomb blast. Thugs not only loot but kill people for money. Terrorists are ruthlessly killing innocent people. How much should I explain? Let’s come to conclusion. I do not believe in violence but here, I would say- let’s kill them. You cannot change those who choose to be corrupt, violent or wrong. They will never change from within. So, it is better to kill them each. There should be an army of honest men and women who choose to detect corruption and crime deeply. Then, those who are found guilty should be stringently punished. The terrorists must be blasted too! I am not saying that kill a pickpocket. But those, whose wrong deeds have imperilled the lives of others, should be dealt with severity. We cannot be kind to those who butcher. Crime should not be tolerated. Else, corruption and violence shall always stay here in the hope to get another chance by the law and people.”
Well, when I read it today, it seems so showy. While I was delivering the speech, all the cruel acts of terrorism and crime were revolving in my mind, which gave so much power to my voice. That gave it more of anger and less of depth. I do feel embarrassed to remember this. I was immature; I was not seeing ‘into’ the matter. To me, criminals were nothing but worth of capital punishment. Though I am non-violent, still I want the sinners to be punished severely. But their whole story must be checked first. Earlier, I was completely in favour of capital punishment for the rapists, murderers and terrorists.
In early teenage, one’s anger is very strong. The 9/11 attack, serial bomb blasts in several cities across the nation, mass killing of people and increasing crime did worry me beyond words. I still am bothered but now I have a different solution in mind. In the speech, I did focus on severe punishment for the guilty but I did not consider the conditions which made them a criminal. I still do not want them to be considered with kindness but at least, I do not support capital punishment. This change was brought over with time.
Usually, people in the West do not face extreme poverty. Look at some African countries, India and Bangladesh; it will surprise you to see the extent of poverty. Many children are dressed in torn clothes; they eat once a few days and even feed on leftover food thrown in dustbins. Winter kills them with coldness and summer with heat. Who would not choose to steal money when pickpocketing can give them some bucks to buy food? There are several families which live below the poverty line. They eat once a day, are illiterate and have no access to any facility in life. If any unfortunate accident or illness demands thousands of bucks suddenly, they are hardly left with any option. They can either borrow or steal. Stealing gets together with violence and soon it gets followed by crime. Corruption prevents the poor and developing nations from getting the basic facilities. And violence comes afterwards!
So, I would like to change my speech now. I don’t want the criminals to be executed. Rather, I want an individual analysis of each criminal. What is the degree of crime- is it simply lying to get a day off or murdering someone for money or power? What were the circumstances which forced the man to take such a step? Or was it complete non-sense out of greed, jealousy or dishonesty? Who suffered eventually and to what extent? Rape, murder and forgery are unforgivable crimes. But each aspect of the crime and reasons behind it must be analysed before giving the judgement. Recently, a terrorist named Kasab was hanged till death in India. He was one of the many terrorists who did the 26/11 Mumbai attack.
But did his execution bring an end to terrorism? Not at all! A point to remember here is that Indian government spent millions of bucks to interrogate as well as protect this terrorist for four year. Could they wring out any useful information to stop terrorism? Not at all! So, those millions of bucks could have been used to help the poor and Kasab should have been hanged in 2009 itself. Was not everything useless?
The revenge for corruption and violence can be taken but it hardly brings any good result. To give a speech on the issue is easy but it’s not easy to bring about a positive change. So, if I could ever change the ‘mortified’ essay I will add practical ideas to it. It’s not about simple punishing the criminals but being alert and protected enough to prevent a crime. Corruption can be stopped with constant efforts by government and people. Other than that, I would also like to change the tone of the speech. It is full of anger rather than understanding. It totally focuses on violence to deal with violence.
About what brought these changes in my perception, the answer is clear. It’s time and experience. As we grow, we come across several people in life. We get to know how some people are bound to do wrong in certain situations. And we also get to know those who commit crime for the sake of fun only. So, there has to be a better and deeper set of solutions to know recognise, prevent and judge criminals. Corruption and violence are ideas, not people. So, we need to remove the idea and its requirement. But yes, to those who enjoy crime, there should be severe punishments so that it strikes a fear in the mind of those who seek blood and clack money for fun. There are certain criminals who are mentally ill. They should be diagnosed, treated and kept in asylums. Leaving a psychopathic criminal free can be largely dangerous to the lives and property of others.
I am not talking about kindness only. It is about an all-round analysis to a problem. We should not jump to conclusion in anger or impatience. Only wisdom can bring justice.
