A group of children were
playing near two railway tracks, one still in use while the other disused. Only
one child played on the disused track, the rest on the operational
track.
The train is coming, and
you are just beside the track interchange. You can make the train change its
course to the disused track and save most of the kids. However, that would also
mean the lone child playing by the disused track would be sacrificed. Or would
you rather let the train go its way?
Let's take a pause to
think what kind of decision we could make........
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Most people might choose
to divert the course of the train, and sacrifice only one child. You might think
the same way, I guess. Exactly, to save most of the children at the expense of
only one child was rational decision most people would make, morally and
emotionally. But, have you ever thought that the child choosing to play on the
disused track had in fact made the right decision to play at a safe
place?
Nevertheless, he had to
be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends who chose to play where the
danger was.. This kind of dilemma happens around us everyday. In the office,
community, in politics and especially in a democratic society, the minority is
often sacrificed for the interest of the majority, no matter how foolish or
ignorant the majority are, and how farsighted and knowledgeable the minority
are. The child who chose not to play with the rest on the operational track was
sidelined. And in the case he was sacrificed, no one would shed a tear for
him.
The great critic Leo
Velski Julian who told the story said he would not try to change the course of
the train because he believed that the kids playing on the operational track
should have known very well that track was still in use, and that they should
have run away if they heard the train's sirens.. If the train was diverted,
that lone child would definitely die because he never thought the train could
come over to that track! Moreover, that track was not in use probably because
it was not safe. If the train was diverted to the track, we could put the lives
of all passengers on board at stake! And in your attempt to save a few kids by
sacrificing one child, you might end up sacrificing hundreds of people to save
these few kids.
While we are all aware
that life is full of tough decisions that need to be made, we may
not realize that hasty decisions may not always be the right one.
'Remember that what's
right isn't always popular... and what's popular isn't always
right.'
Everybody makes mistakes;
that's why they put erasers on pencils.
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