It is my humble opinion that a healthy moral code for society is the safety net for our legal system. If each and every bit of our daily routines is to be codified into the legal system, every country will become a totalitarian state. All citizens will be put into a legal straight jacket. Our legal system would become both costly and draconian to say the least. By having a healthy moral code for social behaviour everything would run more smoothly for society as a whole. The social atmosphere, so to speak, would be more amicable for everyone.
We need minimum standards in setting up our moral code. In support of my claim I would like to give you a real life example of a tragic incident which is not a crime in the legal sense but a totally disgusting and infuriating case of moral violation to an extremely despicable degree. I really regret to say that it happened in Hong Kong about 20 years ago. It concerned a traffic accident in which a private car caught fire in a less busy part of the city ( a place called Kowloon Tong ). A fire had broken out on the engine due to a major leak in its radiator resulting in the emptying of its coolant content. The driver was trapped inside the car on account of the malfunctioning of the door locks. A few pedestrians tried to stop a passing bus in an attempt to borrow a fire extinguisher which is a standard piece of safety equipment required by law to be installed on all public transports. To the disgust of the good samaritans, the driver of the bus refused to let them use the fire extinguisher to put out the fire. This unreasonable refusal to help a fellow citizen in grave danger resulted in the tragic death of the victim trapped inside the private car. The bus driver's ridiculous excuse for his refusal to save a life was that he did not want to undergo the trouble in filing a report to his bus company for utilizing the fire extinguisher on another vehicle which he felt might adversely affect his employment prospects.
The bus driver was prosecuted for manslaughter in a court of law but was acquitted on the basis that he was not aware of the urgency of the situation and had no intention of causing the death of the victim. However, the judge presiding over the case specifically denounced the bus driver's behaviour as an affront to all civilized human morals and codes of decent behaviour. The judge further said that while he might not be guilty legally, he was guilty as hell morally in causing the death of the victim. This tragic example unambiguously highlighted the importance of a generally accepted moral code for society and everyone of its members. Without an effective and healthy moral code society would become a living hell ! Not every social issue or private dispute can be resolved through the legal system. It is simply impossible to legislate for compassion, generosity, good manners and a gracious personal disposition. A healthy and positive social and moral code is the right answer.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn a subtle way the same thing is applicable to our economy where a healthy dose of enlightened sense of value will nurse our struggling world economy back to health in no time. Please see my following blog entry in connection with the global financial crisis :-http://jkhcforum.blogspot.com.au/2009/04/financial-tsunami-ft-way-forward-20.html
ReplyDeleteThe deleted comment was actually made by me which is full of typing errors so that I have to delete it and to replace it by the above one. I never delete any of my readers' comments except when they are abusive and not intended as an exchange of views ( e.g. advertisements ).
ReplyDelete