Friday, January 30, 2009

What are the greatest wrongs?

In your opinion, what are the greatest wrongs that people can commit? Murder? Betrayal? Theft? Cheating? Other ideas? If punishments could be made to fit crimes, what would be the appropriate punishment for each of these wrongdoings? Discuss your thoughts with a comment to this post.

27 comments:

jordan s said...

I believe that the greatest of all wrongs that people can commit is ignorance. In being ignorant of other people and other cultures we develop (even subconsciously) a discrimination of their peoples and customs. This ultimately leads to an underlying disdain between groups of people, most of whom can only be left to human reasoning, resulting in our typical ideas of crime being committed. This is the ultimate wrong because in this day and age, so many people choose to be ignorant and also experience self-ignorance. We do not fully understand ourselves, thusly leaving us unable to understand another. If we all opened up and educated ourselves on the ways others live with an eye of compassion and empathy rather than study and analysis, the world would simply be a better place.

KendraS2009 said...

I believe that the greatest wrong is committing murder. Ending someone's life is worse than anything else you could do to someone. Betrayal and cheating hurt people on the inside but eventually those scars can heal over. Murder is irreversible. Murder also affects so many other people. The murdered person's family and friends are directly affected by that death. Also, it affects the witnesses (if any) who could be forever scarred by what they have seen. Depending where it occurred, the location can be affected by people not wanting to go there anymore. One murder affects a lot of people, and there is nothing worse than ending someone’s life. The appropriate punishment for a murder is for the person who committed the murder to rot in jail for the rest of his life.

shellim2009 said...

The greatest wrong people can commit is to not live. People can be alive, but that doesn't mean that they are living. Countless stories are told of adventure and exploratoin, and it is these stories that people are drawn to more often. If someone refuses to do anything, if they don't know anyone becuase of their pride or laziness or whatever, that is the greatest crime to commit. They are cheating themselves of life and they are thowing away an amazing gift. They are murdering their time, and they are betraying their creator. They are stealing time and emotions from the few who come in contact with them, and they are lying to the world. The biggest wrong doing anyone can commit is to not take advantage, everyday, all of the strenghts and blessings they have been given. A suitable punishment for these things is misery and solitude. No one likes to be alone, but if they manifest a life of lonliness, that is what they will get in return. It would be nothing less than what they deserved.

KatieM2009 said...

I think the greatest wrong to commit is betraying trust to those you care about no matter how it is done. To me, trust is the most important thing in any serious relationship whether that relationship is romantic, with family, or with friends. Breaking this trust is the way to destroy any important relationship. I don't see any way to punish this act because it is undescribable how much it hurts to lose trust in someone.

TaylorS2009 said...

The greatest wrong has to be ignorance. It is the cause of so many other wrong doings in the world, an example of this being discrimination. But to correct this wrong, there isn't much that can be done except an attempt to educate everyone. But with the other wrongs in the world such as murder, I wold just have to go with saying 'an eye for an eye.'

Unknown said...

I think that the greatest wrong that a person can do is point out someone else's wrongs. All you are doing is pushing a rope.

The punishment for doing this should be a limited point of view, a poor outlook on life, and the person should loose their ability to really get to know people... oh wait... that already is the punishment...

AdrienneB2009 said...
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BrittneyW said...

I believe the greatest wrong that people commit is murder. I believe that taking the life of someone else is the worst crime.I agree with Kendra that murder is the greatest wrong because unlike theft and cheating, murder affects many other people. I do not believe it is man's place to take another human's life. The appropriate punishment is going to jail. I dont feel it is appropriate to murder someone who murdered someone else. I personally think the appropriate punishment for their wrongdoing will be ultimately judged by God.

AdrienneB2009 said...

I think intolerance is the greatest wrong. However, it goes hand in hand with Jordan and Taylor's point that ignorance is wrong and Shelli's point that not living is wrong. If one chooses not to become educated about differences and proceeds to live blindly, how can he or she contribute to any positive progression in life? It is necessary to develop opinions because without passion in life, what do we have to live for? It is also necessary to develop our opinions intelligently and to acknowledge that, although we view it as “better,” our way is not the only way. The punishment is the suffering caused by extreme demonstrations of intolerance. We are living it now.

Rick Maestas said...

The greatest wrongs people can commit are wrongdoings to themselves, and if the punishment is an eye for an eye, the golden rule would be unbreakable...

@Jordan and Taylor, how can we be punished for our own ignorance? If you believe the underlying issues become discrimination and disdain, then simple ignorance gives no affirmation to these wrongs. All three can exist separate from each other. So, is it not more appropriate that we view discrimination and disdain as the worst wrongs?

Unknown said...

I believe that that the greatest wrongs are murder and wronging others. I believe the greatest wrongs is the hurting of others and there should be punishments for that. I almost believe in the system of an eye for an eye in some cases to an extent. I also think that a wrong is not living you life to its full potential. God gave each person certain abilities and if you dont showcase those you are committing a wrong. I really dont know what a punishment for that would be cause they are just punishing themselves.

LaurenB2009 said...

I believe one of the greatest wrongs a person can do is letting others decide how you live your life. Being an individual is one of the greatest accomplishments a person can have. I believe that crimes such as murder, betrayal, theft, and cheating all fall under the greatest wrong. Whenever someone takes away a piece of someone else's life they are hurting them. We were placed on this earth to make better of those around us not for cheating and stealing from one another. I feel like there needs to be punishment for any crime. However things such as the death penalty don't make a lot of sense to me. An eye for an eye doesn't fix anything, instead it just gives you two blind men instead of one. Unfortunately people think that killing someone for killing another person is the answer. As far as punishment for crimes such as theft there isn't much you can do besides make sure everything is returned to its original place.

kaytlinr said...

I completely agree with what Katie said, the betrayal of trust is the greatest wrong. Once you betray someone it’s extremely hard to gain their full trust back. The punishment for betrayal is having to live through your life knowing that you betrayed someone’s trust. Having that as a constant reminder everyday is really hard to deal with.

Kim C. 2010 said...

I think the greatest wrong that can be commited is beytrayal of loved ones. This is because it hurts worse than if you were cheated or murdered or whatever through an enemy. Betrayal can't be righted so the only way for someone to be punished is for them to be betrayed by the person they trusted most over and over again never endingly. This way they would endure the pain people go through when they are betrayed by the ones they trusted.

Mackenzie said...

I think that the greatest wrong is when someone hurts someone else as they try to further themselves. By considering themselves and their lives more important than others it shows that they care nothing for the people around them, and therefore have committed themselves to being alone. Because of this, i think that the punishment for this wrong should be that the wrongdoer should always be on the brink of disaster but is always alone and so their cries for help become completely unheard just as they did not hear or care about the cries for help of others. I think this is the greatest wrong based on what many people think is the greatest good. Look at those we consider the "best" people: Mother Theresa, Ghandi, and more. They sacrificed their lives in order to help the lives of those around them, even though they were given many opportunities to go back to their comfortable homes. Therefore, I think that the opposite of these good people are the people that only think of themselves, and if they have to hurt someone in the process they don't care, just as long as they reach their goal.

Steven W said...
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Steven W said...

I don’t think that simply ignorance is a wrong. What action or inaction towards others does ignorance really cause? By simply being ignorant a person doesn’t necessarily wrong another. I don’t think that a person wrongs another simply because they don’t know anything about them. However, when a person chooses to base their perception of others on false information and not attempt to confirm their understanding I believe they commit a wrong. A person cannot be blamed for simply not being exposed to another person’s culture. The difference to me is whether the person had the chance to better understand other’s but chose not to and continue being prejudges to those that they don’t understand. The greatest wrong is to judge others when one knows absolutely nothing about them.

Anna P2009 said...

I really like what Shelli said. That not living is the greatest wrong but I want to add to it not allowing others to live. I don't only mean this literally. Of course that does mean murder but I also mean if someone does something that changes how one lives for the worse. Emotionally harming someone is one of the most scarring things someone can do. Examples of this are rape and abuse(the most extreme. Also emotional scarring can come from things like disloyalty and racism. For me being nice to one another is very important. I know that some of the simplest actions can break a persons heart and take away a little bit of their liveliness.

Pat said...

I think there are many wrongs in life but the most critical wrong is affecting anyone else in a negative way. For an example killing someone, stealing from someone, and hurting someone. Life I believe is meant to be lived for peoples own experiences and the worst thing you can do is destroy someone’s experience.

JakeF said...

For me the greatest wrongs are really all opinionated. One person can think one thing is extremely wrong while another doesnt thing it is so bad. I feel like there are many very wrong things. One of them is lying. I dont mind little white lies however, or lies to protect someone but lies that are intended to hurt people. Other things are murder, i feel like that one is kind of obvious. However what if it is self defense and such? I think alot of things can be discussed with every circumstnace. With that alot of punishment has to be based off the situation so there really is nothing i can say about punishments.

SarahE2010 said...

I think there are many greatest wrongs that people can commit. One of them would be slandering someone else. I think this is a big deal because people are so vicious and rude to one another. If this wrong could be punished think an appropriate punishment would be for the things a person says about another person to be reciprocated in some aspect of their own lives.
Another wrong I believe is ignorance. I think this is a greatest wrong you can do to yourself. If you are an ignorant person, others respect you less and you just create a bad image for yourself. I think an appropriate punishment would be for them to try to teach another ignorant person.
Finally, I think betrayal is a huge wrong because you manipulate those people who care for you. These people have what is best for you at heart, and you turn around and hurt them. I think the best punishment is for these people to be betrayed in return to understand what they did to someone else.

Lauren L said...
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Lauren L said...

I think the greatest wrong would be not making mistakes. Everyone learns in life by mistakes. I think people are too worried about making mistakes because mistakes are considered wrong and bad. Not making mistakes would be cheating yourself in life. I would say I am a very cultured and strong person because of the mistakes I have made. People who have not made many mistakes or shelter themselves from the world are not living to the fullest.

KaitlanW2009 said...

I believe that betrayal is the greatest wrong that anyone can do. The main reason I think this is worst is because it is between 2 people who trust each other; not just enemies. It hurts everyone in the situation, the betrayed are hurt to the point that they change to enemies, and the betrayer normally feels great guilt for what he or she has done. On either side there is a great deal of pain, and most times the loss of a friend. I don't think there needs to be a punishment for betrayal, because the guilt is enough punishment in itself. To sum up, I think betrayal is the greatest wrong anyone could do because it tears friendships apart, and makes a best friend an enemy.

Anonymous said...

In my opinion, the greatest wrong is not believing enough in yourself to stand up for what you feel, deep down is right. Though there is no "physical" punishment for this, the real punishment is never knowing what you are truly capable of. And living with that is honestly the worst punishment of all. The greatest strength a person possess is not in how much weight they can life, but in how they view themselves. Realizing your true beauty, knowledge, and understanding your morals is what make a person strong. Defending what they believe is right is what makes a person strong. To not do either of those, makes you weak, and unable to live your life's journey to the fullest.

I also agree with Kaitlan's idea. Betrayal is just physical evidence that a person is not confident enough in themselves to do good, so they take it out on others. Which relates back to my idea about not believing in yourself.

TomB said...

The greatest wrong is, as jordan said, ignorance. But not in such a broad term, since everyone is ignorant in some respect. The greatest wrong is choosing to be ignorant. to have a mind closed to new ideas because of bias is a horrible thing. Thinking such as this will cause pain to others, the world, and to the person with the bias.

as i said, everyone is ignorant to a degree, but when one refuses to see the opinion, the side, that another party presents, its foolish. much can be learned with a little empathy.

HaileyM2009 said...

I believe that all sins are bad and that we tend to make some seem "less bad" to make ourselves feel better. However, in my own experience there are a few wrongdoings that frustrate me more than others.
First: selfishness. This is something that ALL of us (including me) do without realizing, simply because of the culture we have been raised in and because we are human. We are so fortunate--even the poorest among us should consider themselves wealthy compared to the rest of the world. It is so discouraging to know that tons of people die every day from completely preventable causes, but we are okay with that as long as we can live unaffected in our suburban bubble. The simple fact that we have a choice of clothes in the morning puts us into the top 5% of the world’s wealthiest people. Why can’t we apply the lesson we learned in kindergarten to the rest of life: sharing is caring. I’m not saying it’s bad to be wealthy. One of the most misquoted verses is 1 Timothy 6:10. Many people think that money is the root of all evil. No, it says that the LOVE of money is A root of evil. When did America become so in love with it’s own success and with money that we are willing to let others die while we hoard our wealth?
Another wrongdoing that makes me more upset than others is murder, specifically for someone who isn't a Christian. This is slightly cliche; however, when you take the life of someone who doesn't believe in God you are taking away any chance they had of discovery God and escaping an eternity away from Him. For a Christian, the day you die should be the happiest day of your life (to live is Christ, to die is gain), but for a nonbeliever when you take someone’s life you are taking so much more than that away from them.