A value to life? I don't know. But cirtainly I have my preferences. The lives of those around me are always more important to me than the others. For the ones I love I can take a life. But I won't be giving my life, not because its mine but because it belongs to the ones I love, to protect them, to share with them, to take care of every wish of the dearest. I don't have any scale or justice here. Or may be I'm just too afraid to have one.
There are some universally accepted reletive values for life. Forget about comparing criminals' and magistrats', a minister's life is more valuable than his guard's. Weather our politisians are worth it or not is stuff for another post, and before I continue, I should tell something about my self.
Two things about me: I want justice. I'm afraid of helplessness. When I seek justice, I'm hating descrimination (of any kind). I want everybody's life to be equal but it is not to be. So either I have to try and set it right, which makes me helpless (and I hate it), Or justify it.
So here is my justification. The age old formula(which BTW is topic for another debate): Greater good of the greater people. When we value a magistrate's life to be more than that of a criminal we aren't actually weighing their lives but their other qualities. For a society, a magistrat's genius is more valuable than a criminal's crookedness. They don't give a damn about the magistrate. If you can promise them the knowledge without life, they wouldn't bother to save his life. But it is not to be so. Hence we give value to the life too.
What?? You find it rediculous!!! Let us see, How much important is a farmer's/hunter's life to you? Watch castaway and imagine your self as the Robbin Williams(if I got the name right). How much do you wish for some one who can get food for you? And what about now? Do you really worry if a farmer dies of hunger? Ofcourse we all 'care', afterall death is misteriously grotesque. But I'm talking about 'worry'. What's the difference? It's food that is valuable to you. and life is only the packaging it comes in.
This happens all the time. Not only in the case of life. Go to Tirupathi. Every body is supposed to be equal before god. But why do we have different tickets? I'll tell you why. The one who can spend more should be earning more. That means he is more productive than the other. By the same scale that same larger per head income is good for a society, The one's time who earns more is more important to the society, and hence the need to save him some. Does my logic have any flaw?!
Now on to the always debated death-sentance. I feel it is not a right punishment. The reasons that go usally like "you can't take wht you can't give" and "You don't know when somebody rehabilitates or turns out to be innocent" form only part of the reason. There are times when these things fail. But when they do, I feel, death is too small a punishment. Lemme say it with an example. Remember the taxi guy who robbed, raped and killed a girl in banglore recently! I saw a plackard is a photo in 'India Today' or some such magazine saying "Hang the rapist". You really think a death in twenty seconds is a punishment for such a !@#$%^&*(). I don't believe in hell. I won't till I have a proof of it, which comes only after my death(Sure I'll be going to the hell, not heaven). Ever saw 'Shawshank Redimption' or other prison movies? Can you understand what a prison is like? He is a rapist , isn't he? So desperate for Sex, ha...? If it were to me, I would give him solitary confinement for life time. 6"*2" slit is the door for food and a 3" hole to shit in. Dark and damp. No knowledge of the outside world. No company. No don't let him die. Remember promithius who has brought fire to the man? Zeus chained him to a rock and every day a vulture tears away his liver little by little and it grows back every night and painfully too. Pain for eternity.
Wondering whether I'm a psycho or a sadist? Guess I'm both. and most importantly, I'm sub#.
Labels: prose
