Virtues and Vices and society!

Virtues and Vices are two extremes in a human being. One has to aim to enhance virtuous behavior and curtail the Vices in oneself for a healthy life and society. Moral science used to be taught in schools during my time but nowadays it is not. Even if is taught, it is not put into practical use. Some religions talk about normal human behavior and how it is natural to have Vices in a person but do not stress enough on its bad nature and how to eliminate it. This has led to rising problems in society. Everyone feels that they are right at an individual level but do not look oneself as part of society. 

Virtues and Vices of humans

Virtues in general means not harming others but being good to oneself and others around you. It means no cheating, no physical or mental or emotional or sexual abuse of anyone and no jealousy or such ill-feelings about fellow humans. In a competition it means keeping a sportive spirit and not feeling dejected even at a loss. It is after all a game! 

Virtues and Vices (Source: Spirit of Adventure Foundation) 

It also means not making any issues as elements of pride and honor and viewing things as essential and not mere status symbols. One cannot justify Vices and say that they are natural. Even if they are natural, they need to be controlled and overcome for healthy living. Training plays a great part here and this has to be ingrained in young minds right from the start of one's understanding in childhood. School and college education should incorporate these in the curriculum and should should be part of jobs and careers as well. Centers to cater to this should be present at every workplace. 

The days of today 

But when we look around, we see that Vices are allowed to go unchecked. Even people who are in a position to check on it, turn a blind eye to it. Let us start from parents. How many parents of today teach good things to their kids. Poor parents are too occupied in making ends meet that they neglect their kids. The rich pamper their kids and spoil them. While the middle-class continuing to have an unhealthy society in the name of family honors and status symbols. Women and physically challenged people are not respected. They are just pitied and not given their due status to live or provided an environment to nurture their skills to their full potential. This is detrimental. 

Virtues and Vices (Fasrgrow566) 

 
Read here New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia 

Legal rules are made in flimsy ways. People who are poor are allowed to get away with less severe punishment for crimes. Such biases will allow people to continue with crimes and use poverty or other reasons to escape it. Punishment has to be equal and based on nature of crime and not on the criminal's social and/or educational background. Even with good laws in place, they are not well applied and implemented. And when implemented, there is invariably some organization that will jump in and demand reconsideration of the sentence for the crime. Such organizations include human rights, women's rights, and the like. A glaring example of it would be the juvenile accused in the case of the 2012 Delhi brutal rape case of the physiology student. Organizations came to his rescue promptly. They did not think that a person who can do such a heinous sexual crime has to be considered at par with adults. There age should not have been considered and he should have been hanged to death like the other 4 accused. But organizations were saving him from press and severe sentencing overlooking the plight of the parents and brothers who had lost their loved one due to no fault of hers!!! Incredible! This happens only in India! 

The solution 

It is vital that society and law starts looking at things only from the morale and human point of view. All should be equal before the law. Citizens should be clearly taught on what is a virtue and what is a vice and not put any excuse for bad behavior. Restart teaching morality and moral science in schools. Stress on parents to teach these at home. Hold parents responsible for bad behavior of their kids of it troubles society. Implement punishments for parents too in case they are found responsible for causing this behavior in their kids due to poor parenting. No one is above the law and see that the rules are enforced well. Punish corrupt people and have your own tools to detect and catch the culprits rather than troubling the innocent. Punish bullies and those who disrespect women and physically and mentally challenged people promptly. 

Do not make forgiveness as a next step after a crime. After a crime comes punishment and then true repentance by the culprit followed by forgiveness by the victim. It is up to the victim to forgive or not. Do not force it on him or her. Respect people if they are not in the wrong. All crimes must be viewed from the point of its impact on society in the long run. Stop teaching and talking on mythologies that show disrespect of women in any form. Think healthy and live healthy. Think humane and be humane! But being humane is to conquer vices and live with virtues!