Every society has rules and regulations which the people under it must abide by. In every country around the world now, these rules are written down as laws decided by the Government or religious leaders. The document in which the laws are complied in, the Constitution is put in place for the protection of the rights of individuals although that is not what obtains in this age. In fact if truth be told, for hundreds of years laws have been twisted by those in positions of power to suit their purposes no matter how detrimental it may be to others. Take Adolf Hitler for example, he was one man who destroyed the lives of millions of people simply because of a seemingly unquenchable thirst for power and greed. Power some believe, political and other should not be entrusted in a single individual because as we have seen especially in the last few years, absolute power has a way of making individuals turn to complete strangers.
In the past, in which anyone convicted of a crime was punished according to the severity of the crime, but hangings being popular at the time which often resulted in being spectacles, even minors offences like petty theft were often punishable by death. I find it ironic that most of the Nations in Europe which are nowadays considered as the seat of western civilisation were some of the most bloodthirsty countries in the world. The French did after all invent the Guillotine as a more humane way of beheading a person. I don’t know about others, but I actually find it more daunting than the axe.
We have long since pondered the question of how best to find out the truth in a court of law. In the middle ages, people were tried by ordeal perhaps by burning, drowning or in a battle. The idea was that if they were innocent, God would save them. Now in jury trials lawyers would argue it out with the aid of witnesses and evidence one speaking for the accused or defendant and the other for the prosecution. In theory, the burden of proof lies with the prosecution, that is, it is up to the Prosecution to determine the guilt of the defendant. The defence lawyer does not need to show that his client, the defendant is innocent, merely that the Prosecution’s case against the defendant is weak. And as is becoming increasingly popular in especially third world countries and yes ,even in the first world countries, the rich and therefore powerful get off lightly compared to those of less means. The law is means different things for and to varying people.
No one should be above the law and to say or do otherwise is to make a mockery of the system upon which our Nations were founded on. The basis of every nation should be entrenched in the Constitution of any nation. And as far as penalties go for crimes committed, death should not be the solution we seek. For despite the fact that this penalty is meant to serve as a deterrent to would be offenders, a more effective stance needs to be taken without another life being laid to waste to another life.
Where does it all lead? This seeming need to cause as much harm as possible to one another? Can’t we all just live together in peace and help the needy selflessly, contrary to the popular opinion that not every one can. We all have the leadership gene, the misconception though is in thinking to make a difference, we have to be on some public platform, It takes more courage not to mention shows more maturity to take a back seat every now and then. You will of course contribute your ideas to a group effort. Any smoothly run system owes its success to its support system, invisible most of the time but nonetheless integral.
Believe in yourself even if no one else recognizes the potential that is in you. You can do anything if you put your mind to it. Remember to be fair in all of your future dealings.
