Death Penalty

Death Penalty is a very controversial way of punishment. It violates the right of humans to live, but it is still legal in some areas. Death Penalty can come in the form of guillotines, firing squads, and many other methods. They all violate a human right. Many people agree to implement death penalty. There are valid arguments for this. According to civilliberty.about.com, death penalty is an effective deterrent. If the person is dead, how can he commit any more crimes? Criminals will think twice before murdering, because they will face death. Nobody wants to die. The victim’s family will want vengeance and the only way to do that without them killing the criminal and going to jail. Death penalty is the alternative for this. The killing is done for them.

However, death penalty has many disadvantages and many people oppose the idea and action. According to antideathpenalty.com, death penalty actually costs more to implement than life in prison. About 2 million dollars are used to make sure the criminal gets a fair trial in the form of appeals, security and defense counseling, compared to the 500 thousand dollars used for life in prison. This punishment directly violates the human right to live. Many religions including Catholic, Presbyterian and Amish oppose this punishment. The innocent can be killed for the crime they did not do. Statistics also show that death penalty is not actually a deterrent. The US, which practices death penalty, has a higher crime rate compared to Britain and Australia, who don’t practice death penalty.

I personally oppose death penalty. If someone were to kill a loved one of mine, I prefer them to suffer in prison rather than have them killed. This way, no one kills anyone and no human rights will be broken. The topic of DP is very complicated and people can argue for hours on what they believe in.

The most violated crimes/laws in Indonesia

There are many violated laws/crimes in Indonesia, the country I am living in right now. It is not exactly one of the countries where crimes are not committed very often. There have been quite an amount of cases and stories where crimes are committed. From theft, pick pocketing to attacks, there is an abundance of bad plots in Indonesia. It may be the government’s fault or the police’s fault but we should consider the resources available for them as well as the citizen’s reception when a friend or family is punished. It is be right to punish them but the close ones are usually biased about their thoughts on the verdict.

Pick pocketing is very common in crowded places like the wet market. One will walk into the location and must be very careful. Unknowingly, that person can find him or herself looking for their cell phone or wallet filled with a lot of money, unable to find it. But who is to blame? The pickpockets or the society (including the law enforcers)?  Actually, considering the socio-economic status of the people, they may be to blame. But it may be the law enforcers’ fault too. The poor resource management of Indonesia causes the people to have less money given from the government’s support.

Today, in Indonesia, cases of corruption have caused the nation to be unstable in  terms of its infrastructure and the distribution of money. The poor have no support from the rich, that is why they may resort to crimes.

Has law helped in reducing crime?

In my opinion, yes it has. Why? I think that psychological influence is very powerful. The people’s minds are affected by threats. I personally am affected if someone were to threaten me, I would be scared. The law does not eliminate crime, but it reduces and minimizes crime. There is only a very low chance (if any) of all people being at peace and not committing any crimes.

In one way or another, the law has made Earth’s countries a more peaceful place to be. It may seem to affect us now since we are already experiencing it. But try to think about it, if the law didn’t exist, there would be a million times more crimes than if there was a law. Without law, the poor will become poorer and the rich will become richer. This would be only one of many possible results if there was no law.

The law seeks to punish and prevent and it has been quite successful in its objective. When a criminal is captured, he will be sent to prison or at least give back what he took through community service (depending on the severity of the crime). In this period, the criminal will ponder on what he has done. This will be likely to prevent him to keep doing what he had done because he feels guilty. 

How does the law help in reducing crime?

The law has been around for as long as civilization began.  It has greatly reduced the amount of crimes people committed over the years. Without the law, the world would have been a battlefield. People would attack, kill and rob others just to take what is theirs. Without the law, the world would be a terribly dangerous and corrupt place. People won’t be able to walk outside for even a second!

But how has the law kept order? The law injects fear into society. If anyone attempts to cause a disruption or attempt a crime, they will be reminded that there will be someone to bring him or her to justice. The system’s purpose is to punish and ultimately cause criminals to never commit crimes again. With fear in the minds of the people, they will think twice or thrice before planning an evil plot.

The law has made a need for facilities like the police force and the prison. These facilities are to enforce what the law states. Without police officers and prisons, the law would be useless and just a piece of writing made up by a group of people. It would be scary to think what the world would look like if there would be if there were no laws applied in countries around the globe. If there were  no laws, the situation would be catastrophic.  

Value Judgment

What is value judgment? In my perspective, it is putting or stating your opinion on a something. When you make a value judgment, you put (your) value on another opinion, idea or statement. One example of a value judgment is stating your opinion on ‘is education a business?’

There are 2 common types of value judgments. One type is Moral value judgment. As the world moral implies, it is the moral values, some examples are: truthfulness, generosity, fairness, happiness, courage and many others. The other type is utility value judgement. These are things that you need to live. Some examples would be: common sense, safety, food, money, stability, money and stability.

Examples:

1.       Is donating good?

If you make a judgement that is more to utility, you would tend to care about your money, etc. rather than moral values like generosity, and vice versa if you are more generous.

2.       Should you move far away in hopes to find business or stay together with your family?

If you make a judgement that we should stay together as a family, you would value unity more than money. If you think we should do business, you would care more about money.

3.       Is education a business?

If you care more about fairness (for those who can’t afford), you would say education shouldn’t be a business. If you would care more about the money, you’ll say that education can be a business.

4.       Do we need technology to live a better life?

If you would say we don’t need technology to live better, you would care more about simplicity rather than stability and comfort. If you think we need technology, you are likely to value comfort higher.

5.       Do we need money to be happy?

If a person says he needs money to be happy, he’ll value money higher than the moral values like unity (family). If that person says he doesn’t need money to be happy, he values unity higher than money.

What to do when conflicts arise

I am right. You are wrong. That’s what the people say. It’s somehow a part of us, and it really shows when the case is very serious. People tend to argue rather than lose. But what do we do when we encounter situations like this? Do we argue our way out? Or do we look for another way? There are several ways to settle a conflict. You can settle your differences, or look up the evidence and facts.

When looking at or settling an argument, we must be objective, not subjective. That way, we will have proof on what you believe or support. You are not always right. Humans are not perfect. Consider that in an argument.  

Evidences are very powerful. Let’s say you saw something that you are confident about, a flying saucer. If you tell that to others without any form of evidence, they will not believe you and will think you made it up. But let’s say you took a very detailed picture and show it to them. They might have a better chance of believing you. A credible witness can also be evidence, as long as his witness matches what he saw.

Arguments are conflicts, and they can lead to violence and trouble. That’s why we should settle an argument before problems arise.

Racial Discrimination between Whites and Asians

In the world, there is much racial discrimination. One of the major one is whites against Asians. In America, Asian Americans are treated differently. There are numerous comments and reports in the internet that give accounts of this treatment. A report on Bloomberg states that some major schools like Harvard are making it harder for Asians to admission, compared to whites.

Actually the Asians (Chinese) were not brought to America until there was a need (by the Whites) for the Asians to help build the railroad. The Asians were given the dangerous tasks like blowing up the hole in the mountains to make the railroad. Still, they were not treated well and received lower wages (compares to whites).

I think if racial discrimination still exists, even if it is not shown, there cannot be world peace. If Whites are discriminating Asians, there will always be conflicts, fights, and bullying in schools, the public transport, and in many other places.

This issue slightly changed my perspective on Americans (especially the racist ones). I knew there was racism everywhere, but I did not think that it is like this. I wanted to go to the US for my studies, but now I should choose a good community with minimal racism. That way, I can study and live in peace. The world will always be a better place without any racial discrimination. Then the nations will unite, settle their differences, and live in peace.