Laws not enough to fight crime

Mphuthumi Ntabeni’s article in The Southern Cross of 15-21 July and the editorial of the same edition have started an important debate on social values that needs to be continued. Mphutumi’s article is about “how politics destroys the soul” while Günther Simmermacher’s editorial on Pope Benedict’s encyclical Caritas in Veritate among other things explains how in today’s society, “the world has lost its respect for the human person”. Between them these two essays touch on some of the fundamental causes of today’s social ills. For this reason I am taking a break from my current theme of Biblical and Christian role models in order to carry the debate forward.

In today’s global village we live in a world in which advanced democracies and ruthless dictatorships exist side by side.

One would think that advanced democracies are much better societies where the level of crime is low, everybody obeys the law and people do not live in fear. Unfortunately that is not necessarily the case. If we define advanced democracy in terms of constitutional provisions, we can rightly say that South Africa and the United States are among the most advanced democracies of our time. However we know that in both countries crime is rife, people live in fear and human life often counts for nothing.

The prevalence of crime can be explained in terms of glaring inequalities between the rich and the poor. The poor may find that the only way to help themselves in the absence of jobs and social welfare schemes is to resort to crime. This is true, but not the whole truth.

A factor that is often ignored is that legal documents are not by themselves a sufficient basis for the development of a society in which crime is frowned upon and people in positions of power behave responsibly and ethically. Yes, it is absolutely necessary to have a progressive constitution and to put in place laws and to have law enforcement agencies. But legal documents and law enforcement agents alone do not reform societies. After all, constitutions can always be changed to suit those in power.

For society to change for the better, there should also be a shared set of values; there needs to be a fundamental change of heart and a change in social consciousness. I will support my contention by referring to traditional society and the Bible.

In traditional African society crime existed, but it was abhorred; individuals had respect for parents, for human life and for community values. If you transgressed, you were punished by the community and by your ancestors, and you knew that even your own family could disown you.

In the Old Testament, God gave the Chosen People the Ten Commandments through Moses. But Moses knew that it was not enough for the people to know and obey the Commandments. They had to have a total commitment to the law; they had to have a complete change of mind and heart: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children”.

When Jesus started his ministry, his message was: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near”. His followers had to turn away from their sinful ways by having a change of heart. Similarly, Paul tells the Christians of Ephesus: “Your hearts and minds must be completely new, and you must put on the new self which is created in God’s likeness.”

Today we live in societies where the supreme law is not the law of God and of one’s conscience, but only the law of a secular state and its legal documents. We may be aware of human rights, but we are not guided by obedience to a Supreme Being, or respect for community and ancestral values.

With no spiritual and community values to regulate our hearts and minds, we can rape, maim and plunder to satisfy our greed and desires.

In next month’s article, we will discuss how this dynamic applies to the realm of political leadership.