I will give a little background that will lead into the question:
[WARNING: YOU ARE ENTERING SPOILER CITY]
There is a girl with a really bad mother. She's a single mom and is very negligent of the child. She lives a life of partying and debauchery, and if I remember correctly, she has drug problems. The girl has concerned and caring aunt and uncle; they try to help, but feel that as long as the girl lives with her mom, there's only so much they can do for her.
And so, a secret deal is struck between the uncle and the soon-to-retire chief of police. He [the policeman] kidnaps the girl, retires, and starts a new life in which he and his wife lovingly raise the child in a scenic cabin somewhere, focusing solely on providing her with safety, affection, a "normal, happy childhood", etc.
After a while, the girl is declared dead. But eventually a P.I., hired by the aunt or mom, discovers the cabin and sees the girl with her new "parents." The P.I.'s girlfriend happens to be with him when he makes the discovery, and a debate ensues (that will ultimately end their relationship).
Thus, our dilemma. Should the P.I. call the cops and report the kidnapping, or just go home and act like he never saw anything?
I could delve into the complexities of the issue, but I think you can do that yourself. So instead, I'll share one of the reasons I find the question so fascinating -- people's answers are very different, and I've found that, of the people I've asked, it's split about 50/50. It's always interesting to see how the opinions fall down gender lines, political lines, etc.
So I say we conduct a vote. I've added a poll below where you can vote. If you get a chance, comment what you'd do and explain why. If nothing else, though, PLEASE vote in the poll below.
I'll take part, too. Sometime in the next few days I'll write a comment and explain why I'm on the (rules-following, obey-all-authority) side I'm on.
Thanks for weighing in. Enjoy college football. Let's Go Mountaineers!
Jon
We watched the movie “Gone Baby Gone” and the resounding theme was truth. We must live and die by the truth. God intends for us to deal with the truth. This movie made me realize the significance of the responsibility of truth. I think this is why most people avoid the truth. You can’t just demand the truth and walk away. If we require truthfulness in our lives we must be prepared to deal with the responsibility that comes with it. So many damaged and weak people really “can’t handle the truth” and if we are going to impose this fundamental virtue upon them then we too must accept some responsibility for what transpires. I don’t know that if we follow through on our heroic and difficult task of insisting on the truth that we are capable of handling the consequences. Obviously, those that avoid facing the truth are taking that path for a reason – back to the not being able to handle it. If we do insist on staying in the truth we must also commit to becoming our brother’s keeper and ensuring the innocent victims of lies are protected and nurtured. Tough choice, it is easy to be noble, not so easy to be available and committed to someone else’s consequences, even if we are the ones who imposed this truth on an unwilling participant. True heroes must stick around and help.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure when I first saw this movie I thought I had to call the cops, no question. Truth is something I really value. This time though on thinking about the situation, I surprisingly felt more compassion and was really thinking about what's best for the little girl. So, I'm really glad that God is working in my life to make me more gracious and compassionate.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I still come to the same conclusion. If the law were somehow going against the Bible, then I would say go ahead and break it we must follow the Bible first. But I don't think the law is against the Bible in this case, so I would say that we should uphold it. I would call the cops, but maybe then try to find another solution or be in the family's life more to reach out in Jesus' love to them. Maybe I could offer to watch the little girl some nights?
Thanks for the responses, guys. At the time of my writing this, the vote is split right down the middle (6 for, 6 against). This doesn't surprise me; as I mentioned, whenever I talk to people about this, it's always close to a 50-50 split.
ReplyDeleteAs for me, I would call the cops. I've been trying to think the last couple days exactly WHY I would call them. I would inarguably be making the girl's life worse. So I hoped I would have a better reason than "I'm a rule follower."
And while I am definitely a rule follower (you could probably accurately call me a rule-monger), I think this is what I've come up with:
Democracy works a certain way. People obey laws and work to improve the country within the framework of those laws. If they find that those laws aren't adequate to provide for people's needs, they lobby to change them. When people break these laws, they are punished accordingly. When people see blatant violations of these laws, they report them to the authorities.
I think I like this system. I like democracy. When someone blatantly violates a law (especially one that seems important, like a kidnapping law), I feel it is my duty to report that crime. If I allow myself to step back and weigh the pros and cons, evaluate the repercussions, etc., then I am basically placing myself above the entire system as its judge and master. Not to overuse the argument of "What if everyone did that?", but... what if everyone did that? If crimes were only reported, or for that matter obeyed, when they fit in with an individual's worldview, it seems like the whole society would be much more chaotic and law enforcement much more inefficient.
Anyway, in the case of the hypothetical Gone Baby Gone kidnapping, I agree with the previous commentors that there is room to help the girl within the framework of our laws. Babysit her. Mentor her. If this isn't enough, the aunt can try to win custody in court.
The final tough consequence of calling the cops is, I think, the incarceration of the uncle and police chief who planned it. Their intentions seem so pure, and it feels wrong for them to be arrested for trying to help (even "save") the girl. But again, I think, a staple of our society is the punishment of law-breakers -- even those with the best of intentions.
Anyway, I'm certainly not trying to convince you to agree with me. It's a really complex issue. In a spirit of "agree to disagree," I just want us to be able to bounce ideas off each other and articulate some deep thoughts. Please keep voting and commenting!
First of all, yes, you are a role-monger. I honestly laughed out loud when I read that.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I would not call the cops. I completely understand your point, Jon, about being the master and above the laws. I know that I am not, and, I guess, probably have to, in the end, call the cops. But I really, really wouldn't want to. I could not bear to leave that little girl with that woman. It would break my heart, pretty selfish, I guess.
ok, how honored do I feel right now? this conversation would not be possible at all if jon did not have a duo partner who was happy to take the bus to the southside works theater to see the movie. we won't disclose just how many people accompanied us to the movie.
ReplyDeletebut to the question- the answer is easy. you call the cops and give the daughter back to the mom. you have to believe that people are capable of changing for the good. and it is a slippery slope to say that citizens should make jugement calls on crimes like kidnapping. don't forget, the p.i. can arrange for frequent house visits from child protection services now that a parenting problem has surfaced.
and i know any kid would die to have morgan freeman as a father figure. but come on, being mothered by michael scott's dream woman is not a bad consolation prize.
When I started thinking about what to write, all i could think of was "Gone Daddy Gone" by the Violent Femmes (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x21nuu_violent-femmes-gone-daddy-gone_music)
ReplyDeleteAnyways... I'd probably call the cops for the same reason Jon would, not matter how the situation makes you feel the girl does not belong to the policeman and his wife. They stole/kidnapped her, even if it was with good intention.
I'm reminded of a recent show of "The Beast" starring Patrick Swayze in which a woman from a Russian-ish country has a child as a sex slave in the US. This child was then sold on the black market to a couple unable to have children. It's pretty much the same thing, sure the mother isn't in a great place, but does that mean she doesn't have the right to be with her child? I think not.
I challenge anyone to tie Patrick Swayze, the Violent Femmes and Gone Baby Gone in a more beautiful bow. :)
Jon, I was re-contemplating this question today. As you know, like you, I am a rule-monger. I voted for calling the cops the day you posted the poll. As well, I think the explanation for your position was strong. That being said, I have a few objections that keep me from 100% embracing the "rule-mongering" side.
ReplyDelete1. Like you, I like Democracy. However, this raises the question of "what is Democracy?" Is a law created at the Federal level truly the same as one created at the state or local level? In my eyes, "No." The larger the group of people creating a certain law, the less it truly is attached to the "will of the people" when carried out in a smaller geographic subset. To use a silly, yet illustrative, example, if the US had a vote on whether or not to allow pierogies to be eaten in the country, the 99% of citizens that live outside of Pittsburgh may vote to ban pirogues. But, its enforcement in Pittsburgh would surely be against the wants of Pittsburghers. I bring all of this up just to weaken an appeal to "Democracy," in general, as a reflection of the people's will.
2. I agree that following rules creates a more cohesive and stable society. However, I don't think that this just applies to rules "on the books." For example, very few people fart in public. Not because it is illegal, but because it is against societal norms. As well, in Russia, when contestants on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire use the lifeline to "ask the audience," the audience will oftentimes intentionally give the wrong answer. They want to see the person fail. In the US, we want the contestant to win. There is no law, just societal values. In the case of the Gone Baby Gone situation, I am not sure that obeying the kidnapping law is necessarily more conducive to a cohesive and stable society than a norm to protect children from abusive/neglectful parents. To me, this is not completely clear.
3. Finally, to me it is helpful (though not conclusive) to think of the situation in these terms: "Jon, tomorrow there is a 50/50 chance that you will wake up and actually be the girl from Gone Baby Gone. Now, what do you think should be done about the girl?" If you knew that you might actually be the one positively or negatively affected by the decision we are debating, what would your choice be? I can't imagine that if I were to potentially wake-up tomorrow as the girl that I would want someone to call the cops and send me back to a neglectful mother.
Again, I'm not saying that either of these three points that I came up with while in the shower (TMI!) are strong enough to make me change my vote from "call" to "keep quiet", but they are enough to move me closer to the middle ground.