"One must require from each one the duty which each one can perform," the king went on. "Accepted authority rests first of all on reason. If you ordered your people to go and throw themselves into the sea, they would rise up in revolution. I have the right to require obedience because my orders are reasonable."
The Little Prince
Antoine de Saint Exupéry
It's been a while since my last post in the Weekend Experiences community. That doesn't mean I've been away. I have been stopping by and reading the posts. The experiences that you share are useful for all of us to learn. I am back to write about one of the topics proposed by our host @galenkp for week 320:
If you were the ruler of your own country, what three rules would you set for the population? Explain why you chose those three in particular.
I do not have the charisma to be a ruler, so perhaps it isn't easy to think of the laws I would implement if I were in charge of a country. But the theme, among all those proposed for the weekend's reflection, motivated me to put myself in the shoes of a leader and write down three rules that would be fundamental for my government.
- Abolition of the army
I would eliminate the army and military spending from my government. I am convinced that money spent for such purposes is a wasted resource. Some might think this is a crazy idea, but I am not the only one who thinks this way. Today, there are several nations without standing armies, led by Costa Rica, which abolished its armed forces in 1948.
How many countries spend resources from their budgets on the development and maintenance of armed forces, even without ever having been directly involved in warfare? Are such expenditures really justified?
I think that at this stage of the development of humanity, to settle conflicts between nations using weapons is at least an example of stupidity, from which our race has not been able to detach itself. The negotiating table should always be the only way to find an agreement that avoids the loss of innocent human lives and material goods. Especially because those who have the responsibility to sit down to negotiate, will never take up arms to fight on the front line.
-The universal right to education, culture, and sports
The right of access of all citizens to education, culture, and the practice of sports would be among the priority laws of my government. I believe that the cultural and physical development of people would prevent many ills that our society suffers from today. Educated and healthy citizens would contribute more to the development of each country.
The only impediment citizens should have in this area would be their personal capacity (physical and/or intellectual) to face the challenges posed. Social differences, in no case, should condition access to classrooms, and cultural or sports institutions for those who have an interest in receiving training of any kind.
The special emphasis I would put on enforcing this rule for children. It is sad to see how many children are excluded from these benefits just because they were born in a country that does not guarantee they can receive these services. Later, when they become adults, society will not hesitate to ask them to behave up to its demands.
-Prison system reform
This third rule was suggested to me by a comment I heard from a person while writing this post. He was talking about prison as a place where he would have safe shelter and food without having to worry about it.
It is very likely that if the second of my laws is successfully implemented, the number of crimes in the country will decrease considerably. Even so, there will always be people who will go to prison to serve their sentence for breaking the law.
The reform I propose would prevent prisons from being mere warehouses for lawbreakers. For the maintenance of penitentiary centers, the state employs numerous resources. My proposal is to make prisons self-sustaining centers, capable of financing their expenses with their own production.
Inmates would be offered opportunities for self-improvement that would prepare them for the time when they serve their sentence. At the same time, they would be obliged to work, for which they would receive a payment that would cover their expenses in prison, the benefit of their family, and they could even save for their reintegration into society.
I hope that my three rules are reasonable so that the people will consider me a fair ruler, as the king who found the little prince on the first planet he visited until he arrived at Earth believed himself to be. In the comments of this post, you can let me know. I'd still understand if they think otherwise. Pleasing everyone is an impossible task when it comes to governing a whole people.
Thank you for reading.
✏️ Original content by @leopard0
✒️ Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
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