story
Sunday, April 10, 2011
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.
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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