Recently, many rescued child labourers who were put in State Home for Boys, fled it by bribing the guard. They requested police not to send them back to “jail”. Critically examine the ethical issues involved in this incident. In your opinion, how should government deal with child labour issue? Suggest measures. (200 Words)
In the given context, intricacy of the issue can be understood from observing the two flips of the same coin.
- the ineffective rehabilitation process and
- loopholes present in the system.
Mentioning State Home for Boys as “Jail” unfolds the absence of proper care, protection, education and other necessary services which are assumed to be given to children in the institution.
Corrupt practices like bribing the guard not only reveal dereliction from the duty on the part of the guard but also puts question mark on the accountability of the administrative authorities of such institutions.
Provision of penal action against the employer, collection of fines, establishment of Child welfare fund, registration of child residence institutions, juvenile justice board etc. are already in place.
Social auditing of these provisions, active participation of citizens in their enforcement, strengthening of volunteer organizations for providing grass-root level information etc. should be called upon. Strict action should be taken against finding of any loophole. Multi-pronged approach in effective and strict enforcement of the constitutional and legal provisions with the help of society can weed out the inveterate problem of Child Labour.
“Live one day at a time emphasizing ethics rather than rules. ” What do you understand by this statement? Explain with suitable examples. (200 Words)
From the above statement, I understand that while rules are necessary, more emphasis should be on ethics in day to day life. Various books etc… have advised people to live life one day at a time in order to utilise the present for enjoying life or to work for a prosperous future. However to utilise the present some rules are necessary. These rules are based on principles like punctuality and are great at forming good habits but also make life mechanical and people insensitive. Once JRD Tata and Mother Terrassa were invited to be chief guests in a function. Near the venue, a poor man had fallen unconscious due to starvation. JRD in order to be punctual did not help the poor person. Mother Terrassa on seeing the person first ensured that he received help and then went to the function and thus was considerably late. This incident was told by JRD who later repented his actions. As can be seen above, rules made a very kind person and great philanthropist like JRD insensitive. Thus although rules and principles must be followed, ethics are more important and hence our actions must be determined by ethics not rules.
Is watching porn an unethical and immoral act? Justify. (200 Words)
The recent ban on pornographic websites has elicited diverse opinions ranging from mild opposition of the move to questioning the act of watching porn itself on an ethical platform. The ethical dimensions of watching porn can be summarized as follows:
- Freedom of internet vs. Cultural roots: Conflict of a traditional mindset with modern individualistic expression of free thought.
- Inducing criminal tendencies vs. Reducing criminal outbursts: Various studies show varied outcomes of watching porn ranging from positive to pathological. The very base of ethical argument in favor of porn rests on the assumption that porn reduces sex crimes but this claim is also refuted with studies which show contradictory results.
- Policy of transparency vs Policy of discretion: The attention porn receives due to restrictions indicates that some policies should be implemented discreetly. Like a banned movie, it only gets publicized by being restricted. It is here that government has the ethical dilemma of being transparent or being discreet about its policies.
- Social image vs Personal views: The social pressure of exhibiting a morally clean image of an avid opposition to porn is opposed to the personal view, mostly shared in informal friend circles, in favor of watching porn. This alienates the individual from his own self as he tries to become socially what he is individually not.
The social outcomes of watching porn can only be known via sociological studies but imposing a particular view or repressing a contrary view is also ethically unfair.
It is argued that Internet-compatible electronic devices being used by school children and youngsters are affecting them adversely in various ways. Some elders even argue that children are losing values thanks to dependence on these devices. Taking example from your own experiences, critically comment on the statements. (200 Words)
Technology developed in this world can be both bone and baneit depends from person to person how to adequately use it. Same is with the internet compatible electronic devices. Children now days get exposed to them at early ages. These devices bring the world’s knowledge to their doorstep. But what is required is the know how to use this knowledge and get benefitted from it.
From my personal experience I get exposed to such device in class 8th (personal computer). I used to get material to make my school reports easily from internet by this device. It helped me gain extra knowledge in that field. Also, whenever I used to get struck and didn’t know how to do particular thing on computer I used to search on internet and then do it myself. This helped in developing attitude of becoming independent in each and every field in me. But uncontrolled access also got me addicted to watching movies and playing games online. This also led to lot of wastage of my play time. I could have used this time to develop a new hobby or to excel in any outdoor sport.
Saying that dependence on these devices is making children to lose values is not fully correct. Childhood is definitely the age when most of our values are developed by interaction with society. If this interaction didn’t happened as required due to overdependence on these devices then this can lead to this effect. But when parents allow controlled use of these devices by their children, this will not affect value system in any way. Instead this will only help in developing problem solving aptitude, help child in learning new hobby like how to play guitar, quiz solving habits etc.
Why is it considered as morally correct to forgive a person who accepts his/her mistake and promises to not to repeat the same? Do you think showing honesty in accepting one’s mistakes are construed as ethically correct move even if their mistake is deliberate and a grave one? With suitable examples, critically comment. (200 Words)
If someone has hurt us terribly, it is expected of us to find the strength to forgive them at least and expect it will not be repeated. Morally it is correct because absence of any forgiveness whatsoever is a sign of cruelty.
Forgiveness is not a single action that you begin and complete in a short time. Forgiveness is a multi-layered process and a long journey where we slowly progress and move towards the goal.
Example: The Nazi requests forgiveness from one Jew for participating in atrocities against the Jewish people. He asks – no, begs – for a response, for confirmation that his remorse is accepted; in vain, he desperately awaits the comforting words that might provide him a peaceful death.
To accept a mistake one needs courage, to request for forgiveness one need might. Honesty is an outcome of knowledge, courage, and might. It is ethically correct to accept the mistakes whatsoever, but timing and situation of accepting it is also vital. In above example, Soldier is near to his death admitting crimes may give him relief, but expecting mercy or forgiveness during time of ongoing sentence is relevant only to him and not to victims.
The victim alone owns the copyright to forgive wrong doers from heart who committed crimes against them. Anyone who speaks on his behalf, without permission, or change of heart is no different than a common thief.
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The achievement of a man does not lies in ever erring, but it lies in accepting it in the face of it, and not just accepting it but even trying to not to repeat it. This is how we become better human beings.
It is morally correct to forgive such a person who accepts his mistake and promises not to repeat it. It is so because someone is showing courage and honesty by accepting his mistake with a promise of not repeating. His thoughts are noble and gestures are right. Forgiving him will help in making him a better human being, after all society/ [its members] should act maturely and help deviated people to come on the right path.
However showing honesty in accepting one’s mistake that was deliberate and grave is not ethical. If Hitler accepts his mistake of deliberately killing millions of innocents just because he hated them, it cannot be justified. It will always remain unethical because of two reasons. Firstly it was deliberate and secondly he always knew of its repercussions and still went with it. Such actions are common in our society – a mother-in-law torturing bride for dowry, Religious clerics instigating people, people taking supari in exchange of money. Such acts cannot be called mistakes in general case but meticulously planned and executed activities for some personal accomplishment.
The only way their acceptance of mistakes become justified is when they actually have a change of heart, they don’t just say but actually transform themselves and dedicate their lives to serve the society, just like what Ashoka did after the Kalinga War.