Dear Editor,
A country seeking greater unity and social harmony cannot hope to do this while it is divided on the all-important questions raised by the application of the law and its impartiality. Even in a nascent democracy such as ours, it is expected that all citizens are equal before the law. Equality in the eyes of the law, on which there is broad consensus and agreement, is the latest casualty of our socio-political divisions. There seems to be one law for officialdom, and another for everyone else.
We have mounting crime statistics, growing violence, increasing drug and alcohol addiction and evidence of an irresponsible society where the practice of naked aggression, intolerance, belligerence and hooliganism seems to be triumphing over the values of self-discipline, tolerance, restraint, good neighbourliness and decorum. And, the latter is not an alcoholic beverage!
Much of this may not be the government’s fault, at least not directly. The truth is that the values of society, community standards and civil behaviour are not set by political parties. All that political parties – all of them – can do is to enable, not dictate, responsible patterns of behaviour to emerge. It begins with setting the right example.
Yours faithfully,
F. Hamley Case
