Justice VS Mercy

If I were to choose between justice and mercy, I would choose justice over mercy. Justice should be enforced in the law to ensure that criminals or offenders get what they deserve, the punishment given out by the law. This is done so to ensure that the offenders do not repeat their mistakes and to warn the general public not to commit the same crimes or else they will be given the same punishment or even harsher, allowing everyone to live in a society without any fear of their safety, thereby giving other countries the impression that Singapore is a country where people abide by the law and not do anything against their conscience, attracting more foreign talents to Singapore to work. If justice is not enforced in the law, criminals and offender will continue to commit crimes, bringing danger to others’ lives as they will not learn from their mistake.

However, mercy still needs to be shown. If the crimes committed are not serious like vandalism, the offender should be given a second chance and let off with a light statement such as a fine and short period of jail term since it is also their first time. Speaking of vandalism reminds me of Oliver Fricker case where he was caught vandalizing on the Mass Rapid Transit trains and given 4 strokes of caning and 5 months’ jail term. The punishment given to Oliver was harsh as I do not think that vandalism should warrant a caning as it might do physical harm and probably psychological harm.
Besides this, Oliver break-in into the MRT terminal shows that there is flaw in the security system and it allows the person-in-charge to look at his mistake, a mistake that will have cause the lives of many people should the person who break in is not Oliver but a terrorist who wanted to plant a bomb in one of the trains.

Hence, this incident serves as a reminder to all Singaporeans to be more secured and not let things to be just as they are. Back to the topic about justice and mercy, I still think that justice is more important than mercy in most circumstances to uphold the law.

Sportsmanship

Currently happening now in Singapore is the Youth Olympics Games and speaking of YOG, it reminds me of sportsmanship. What is sportsmanship? Sportsmanship is when one enjoys an activity with proper consideration of fairness, ethnics, respect and a sense of fellowship with one’s competitors. It is regarded as a moral value in sport where it revolves around two concepts: fair play and character. Fair play refers to everyone having an equal chance to pursue victory, acting towards others in an honest and dignified manner even when others do not play fairly and respect for others including officials. Character refers to the values and habits that determine the way one would respond to desires, fears, challenges, opportunities, successes and failures. Hence good sportsmanship must be shown during competitions and friendly match.

Acts of good sportsmanship include helping up your opponents, shaking hands with them at the end of the match, accepting bad calls gracefully and acknowledging good plays made by others. The real winners in sports are those who know how to persevere and behave with dignity whether they win or lose. However, this was not the case in the rugby friendly match between Anglo-Chinese School and St. Andrew’s Secondary School. Despite winning the friendly match, one of the ACS(I) boys went to insult another St. Andrews boy’s mother which was not an action of sportsmanship as respect was not shown. This resulted in a fight where almost everyone suffered injuries. This would not have happen if the boys have shown good sportsmanship.

Sportsmanship can also be shown in online games by saying good job or nice try if that person has done his best and saying nice one if one got defeated fair and square and not insult the person just because one gets angry over the defeat. This shows that he or she does not have self-control or the correct moral values taught by the parents or teachers.

Hence, I think that everyone should have good sportsmanship and by doing so, have more self control and not be rash in their actions, resulting in wrong decision making.

Are Risks Necessary In Life?

When asked about whether risks are necessary in life, the first thing that comes into about our mind will be the consequences. What consequences will it bring? Will the consequences be dire? And is it worth the risk? It is by human natural instincts to ask that. I myself think that risks should be taken but not all the time, especially when the consequences are very dire and one cannot even carry the weight of the consequences. Thus, we should take risks after great amount of consideration and careful planning with the mindset that we might fail and embracing the consequences should we fail. Sometimes, risks are necessary as they help one to uncover things that he or she does not know, adding more knowledge, learning in the process of doing.

One such risk taken in life was about the Bijami twins who always wanted to be separated in their lives. Neurosurgeon Keith Goh was the one who pioneered this operation and he knew that should the operation, the twins might not survive as a lot of blood would be lost in this operation. However, he wanted to help the twins who desperately wanted to be separate and they would have continued looking for surgeons if Keith Goh had refused to do the operation. Keith Goh also pondered on this operation, not knowing whether he should proceed with the surgery that the twins sought after since they were born. So in the end, he of course agreed to help and went through tremendous preparations for the operation. However, the operation failed in the end and Keith Goh faced criticisms from the public for taking on this dangerous operation.

I do not think that the public should criticize him for his actions but rather praise him for his bravery that he was willing to accept the challenge and able to face the consequences with the correct mindset. They also forget the fact that the twins also desperately wanted this operation and it would be wrong to not help them when he could have done so. If the operation was to succeed, then this operation would be a new discovery to help mankind should twins be born conjoined at their head. Sometimes, risks are worth taking and the one taking it should not be blame for his action if he had put in much effort and time for the challenge.