The Social Contract ... 2011

Too often have we seen people from amongst us reaching the brink - facing serious situations such as chronic diseases or trauma situations arising from domestic violence/ family discords.

Privacy, or a feeling or failure/ shame/ helplessness, or a condition of depression can keep such individuals from coming forth with a request for help. However, the symptoms can hardly go unnoticed. So, what do we do when we sense a condition of abnormality? Most of the times, we write it off as a "not in my backyard" situation, leaving the affected individuals to grapple with their condition in their not-so-capable state.

At the same time, the same individuals are expected to follow social norms of behavior and diligently discharge their duties as members of family and society. Sometimes, their wanting to talk about their situations is a taboo - for the fear that it may detract from the "fun of the party"! Many may not want their pure family situations tainted by the "aberration" - it can be more important to protect ones respectable image than accept a situation that needs attention.

So, what is the social contract between an individual and the society around them - near and extended family included? Is our anthropological evolution to include the aberration and nurse them back to physical and emotional health, or to respect the letter of the law in the individualistic sense and forget the spirit of society? Has the privacy of the individual become a convenient escape route for the rest of us to turn a blind eye towards the oncoming train that will run the individual over?

The answer to this ethical question does not need much analysis. The urgency of a trauma situation requires our brain cells of compassion to be aroused into action, not our craving for righteousness and judgment! It is not to assess right from wrong but to proactively get involved to bring the individual back from the brink. The expectation of society for members to conform to reasonable norms brings with it a collective duty to tend to the ones in bad situations. It behooves us as an evolved species to be inclusive, not exclusive and take accountability for the rehabilitation of the lesser privileged. Shame on us for our comfortable complacency. Shame on us for our wishful thinking that the bad situation will just go away. Shame on us for judging that the bad situation is not bad enough to warrant external intervention. Shame on us for preaching one thing and practising another.

Finally, it is a matter of personal choice - to comfortably sit in your armchair, pass judgment, and join the other bystanders in their state of blissful apathy, or get out of our comfort zones and attempt to make a difference to another soul.