HUMANITY

Jun 21, 2016 Editorial, Features / Columnists

An important principle practised by most people, especially Christians, is their professed belief in forgiveness. Nowhere is this more powerfully demonstrated than when Jesus Christ was placed on the cross. Just before his crucifixion, he said: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
In other words, he was asking for forgiveness for his crucifiers, something very few in society would even attempt to do. For most people, forgiving someone who hurts or attempts to hurt them is easier said than done.
It is natural for people to seek revenge against persons who commit grievous wrongs against them. But sometimes they become so obsessed in pursuing those who wrong them that they are likely to inflict more psychological pain and suffering on themselves than what they had already endured.
This is the view of the 16th century English philosopher, jurist and statesman Sir Francis Bacon who said: It is certain, that a man who seeks revenge keeps his wounds green, which otherwise would have healed and do well.
Most in society have refused to forgive those who have done them wrong. They are so obsessed with revenge that those who have run foul of the law and are seeking forgiveness do not stand a chance.
Everyone has an intuitive faculty to do good; everyone is deserving of mercy, compassion and forgiveness. However, there is a double standard in terms of forgiveness by some who are harsh and unforgiving on criminals but not on politicians who have stolen millions of dollars from the taxpayers.
Many seem to forgive politicians, but they have insisted that those who have engaged in criminal activities of any kind should be incarcerated indefinitely, even though they may have served an appropriate time determined by the courts, repaid their debt to society and become qualified for re-entry into society.
What is unfortunate is that many in society tend to overlook the fact that some prisoners may have undergone full rehabilitation during their time in prison and are changed individuals. This is not to say that the harmful effects of crime should be overlooked, and no one is advocating that society should be lenient in dealing with criminals. Criminals must be punished; but after punishment, they should be given a second chance to redeem themselves once they have demonstrated a fundamental change in attitude and behavior through rehabilitation. Everyone makes mistakes, but to deny those who have paid their debt to society the right to rebuild their lives is not only wrong but it is also unconscionable.
Prisoners deserve a second chance, at least an opportunity to prove that they have changed their lives and will genuinely obey the laws of society. We should not forget that criminals are not born; they are made. They are the products of social influences in society to which they were exposed during their impressionable teenage years, both within the home and the wider community.
The difference is those who are exposed to positive values in society in their social interactions and are taught the difference between right and wrong, are likely to become decent and law-abiding citizens as opposed to those who lack a good support system.
This emphasized the need for good parenting and positive role models in society for youths to lead exemplary lives that would qualify them to be regarded as role models as well.
However, those who are unable to extend forgiveness to others when they fall short should not expect forgiveness when they too fall short. So the responsibility for adjusting behaviour in society rests more on the law-abiding citizens than to the law-breakers.
This speaks to the humanity that is unfolding in Guyana because all people, regardless of who they are, are important, albeit some more than others.

One thought on “HUMANITY”

bl_666 June 21, 2016 at 3:39 pm

“everyone is deserving of mercy, ”
No, and again no, Those scum who burnt folk in their homes, among a litany of others (see the last few days in this very news paper) deserve none. Indeed there are some, known to have carried out the acts for which they are charged, don’t even deserve a trial.
Again, NO.