Justice has always been defined by a very simple structure for ages, it has always been about giving befitting punishment to crimes committed. For every crime committed in the society, there is a lawful punishment attached to it, but it is never about ensuring justice only. As a lover of social science, I have always stated that, humans are not the peaceful creatures we think we are. We have lived as humans for so long that we have forgotten about our true nature.
It is the laws made by the society that moderated human conduct, we are higher animals after all. The animal side of us used to be unhinged, laying waste to everything on earth. In order to andure the safety of ourselves and the ecosystem, nations were founded, borders were defined and laws were created. All this was done to put the animal in us under control, at least we taught we did.
Narurally, loving our fellow humans should be enough to protect us, humans shouldn't intentionally cause harm to fellow humans. We forgot the predator in us, we forgot are just like a Lion's pride, a group of predators that will gladly kill the cubs of another. That is how far our love for each other goes. Knowing this about ourselves, punishment became the reward for every crime. At least if love is not enough to prevent humans from committing atrocities, the fear of being punished should prevent us from doing so.
Fear terrifies many, it is an emotion that plagues the minds of the strongest of humans. Knowing what kind of punishment awaits, after a crime is committed; humans became more obligated to do what is right. We have been following this process for centuries, to the extent that we have convinced ourselves that, doing what is right; is the nature of mankind. If that was true, punishment will not exist.
Despite how terrifying the punishment for some crimes are, people still commit crimes. The percentage of crimes committed keeps rising across the continent. It makes you wonder, do people still fear being punished? Is the system still working? is the punishment not enough? Apart from the chaotic nature of mankind, there is something else about us that most people think about positively, we are adaptive creatures, we evolve. We have survive all kinds of plagues, revolution, nothing can be compared to mankind desire to survive.
Even if the planet is against our survival, we will sacrifice it and move to another, that is what being humans means. Surviving is not a choice, it is a must. If a circus lion can learn to dance, believe me, we can do better. We humans have lived with the punishment system for so long, to the extent it no longer freaks us any more. We have experienced far more pain than what punishment could inflict on us. You think punishment is painful, try hunger, try humiliation. Believe me, there are more emotional pain, than are more painful than any punishment.
So humans would say, even if I have to live for just a year, the way I want, I won't mind doing anything. Now, there is another fear that is more terrifying than the fear of punishment, it is fear of poverty. There is a love that is more potent than the need to live, it is the love for money. People would do anything to add more pennies to their pocket, everything now has a price. The punishment system is no longer enough to keep our demons under control.
As if that is not bad enough, our justice system now lacks force and authority. A constitution is just like a storybook without an entity to enforce it. People have ways to escape being prosecuted, victims cry more tears than criminals. Nothing protects the innocent anymore, now even the innocent have learnt to be the villain. It is easy to judge, have you ever lost everything before? have you ever felt helpless before? have you ever been damaged by the justice system built to protect you?
If you have, then you will understand that, we are the ones that create the monsters that hunt us, terrorist and criminals are once normal civilians, something happened. So this is not the time to find more effective punishment, it is time to search for solutions that comfort people. if lions can be domesticated, the animal in us can be caged through appropriate measures.
This write-up was inspired by weekly featured content titled Punishments in hive learners community.
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