OUR HUMAN SOCIETY CONTINUES TO CRUMBLE – modern morality is now that what is wrong may not be so wro
This is not the first time that a new-born baby has been abandoned and left by the roadside. Babies have been left in rubbish skips, dustbins or on rubbish dumps and even worse. Public officials have been badly beaten to the point of death in the past, people have been murdered, husbands have killed wives, sons have killed mothers, mothers have killed their children – and the list is endless.
Each incident causes trauma and shock – so let’s not exaggerate events. HOWEVER, what I find shocking is that nowadays for every incident a thousand apologists will come forward and try to disorient that what is blatantly wrong to turn it into something that may not be so wrong after all, or even more starkly, excusable and therefore justified in the circumstances.
Mind you, this is nothing new either. When I was a boy I remember a few men maintaining that if a husband catches his wife being unfaithful he has every right to take the Law into his own hands and dealing with her in a fitting manner either by murdering her or beating her. This was viewed to be “correct and justified” in God’s eyes.
The difference nowadays is that whereas such bizarre philosophies were the beliefs of a minority, nowadays, inventing excuses has become very much a majority trend.
The week-end’s incident of the abandoned Qawra baby is a typical example with loads of sermons about not making judgements, not jumping to conclusions and that there may have been “reasons” for such an atrocious act.
Some tried to put a positive front on it and said, well, better abandonment than abortion. Many others said there must be a reason, so let’s wait and see. Even the Prime Minister announced that outright condemnation is sexist and incorrect while others said, blame the mother but what about the father?
Do all these justify the act of abandonment by a mother of her baby a few hours after the birth, a baby still bearing its umbilical cord?
Nowadays, all these are stock excuses and tangent reasons are always brought forward, either because a person was on drugs, or otherwise the person is an alcoholic, or because he/she had an unhappy childhood, either because he/she felt outcasts in society ... and on and on it goes.
Well, I’m sorry. Who does not have great problems nowadays? Is there anybody who can say they are problem-free? People suffer health problems, financial problems, job problems, marital problems, family problems, bad childhood experiences problems, communication problems and God knows what else.
Do these in any way justify their resorting to criminal actions to the detriment of the remainder of society?
Well, I’m sorry, but not in my judgement. And who am I to judge? I am a member of society and have to live within and with that society and whatever I do will have an effect on my fellow human beings and what happens in society affects me.
If I have wronged that society, that same society has a right to judge me and take appropriate action. If I am wronged I can make my own judgement while abiding to legislation and the democratic course of justice.
That is what is known as The Rule of Law that holds society together and prevents it crumbling completely – a crumbling course over which humanity is fast moving towards.
Now we have sections of society maligning the Police Authorities, throwing tomatoes at pictures of the Police Commissioner, abusing national monuments, inventing frame-up stories, while being on drugs or being an alcoholic is used to explain and in some way justify wrong-doing.
Wrong-doing can never be justified, whatever the reason. Society today has lost its moral sense of judgement and seems unable to distinguish between that which is right and that which is blatantly wrong.
Sadly, this is a fast-spreading cancer in society. Yes, all the possible help should be offered for people to deal with and overcome their problems – but not to the point of serving as an excuse to justify harm that has been done to society.
ALBERT JEROME FENECH
