“The invisible dilemma is that men face the very real problem that they don’t feel comfortable bringing these issues up and they tend not to be acknowledged at work.” (James Levine)

We live in a world where we wake up every morning and read the news to find out that unfortunately someone somewhere passed away either from a car accident or violence of some sort (domestic violence, gun violence, gang violence) or that someone has been robbed. Even in developed, first-world countries, these problems exist and cannot be ignored. But the developed, educated countries do fare better than developing nations. This must be solved but how? No, this is not a blog post on a magical solution that can solve all of the society’s issues but I will be suggesting a solution that is critical with respect to today’s norms.

Before we begin the discussion of the solutions, let’s realize that the world is not balanced when it comes to crimes. Like I stated above, some countries have a higher crime rates than others. A logical question now would be why? Why is there this difference in crime rates? When we closely analyze the differences between the countries, it becomes quite evident that the countries with lower crime rates have a higher literacy rate. I believe it would be safe to assume that this correlation is no coincidence. But then again, why is it no coincidence? Well, if we look at the effects of education, it quite logically follows that crime would be reduced. Education is the society’s way to acquire knowledge. With knowledge, people learn about each other and learn to respect other individuals; with knowledge, people gain the right skill set to contribute to society (through jobs) and with this contribution to society, they do not feel the need to worsen their lives by committing a crime. In other words, education enables and propels people towards success and the need/desire factor of committing a crime is consequently eliminated. And because education is working in many countries, it should be globally implemented to ensure the well-being of the society.

But this is not the only difference between the countries that have a lower crime rates than others. Another key issue is corruption. Corruption is rampant in countries with higher crime rates and this corruption allows perpetrators to bribe and escape from the law. And if this becomes widespread and eventually the norm, then it creates a lack of accountability in the society; and if you are not accounted or held responsible for your actions, then it is clear why some countries cannot reduce the crime rates. This lack of corruption in other countries allows the law to be enforced through appropriate means and serves as a reminder to everyone that no one is above the law; everyone will be held responsible for their actions. Since lack of corruption does enable the law to be implemented without hindrance, it should be put into practice everywhere immediately. But lack of corruption is simply an end result; a state of affairs. Not the solution or part of the solution. The solution to achieve no corruption is one that every single individual must work towards; and that is to eliminate greed from within our hearts. Greed is one of the ultimate factors in many crimes and it is something that cannot be eliminated from every individual through an external systematic change. This change must come from within one’s self. We must continue to remind ourselves that to foster greed within our hearts will never make us happy. It will always contribute to our dissatisfaction and, in worst case scenarios, it could potentially lead to a crime. Knowing the negative consequences can help curb greed in our lives and it is the only pragmatic way to control the effects of greed that I can think of.

Finally, the last point I want to make is quite the not-so-famous one. If we observe the circumstances of many crimes around the world, we are bound to notice that the perpetrators are under the influence of alcohol or drugs when committing the crime. I would like to argue that this is not a coincidence but firmly assert that there is causal connection here. The influence of alcohol and/or drugs on the brain is not unheard of; it is a widely known fact that alcohol/drugs cause impaired thought process. And this impaired thought process naturally impedes an individual from making reasonable choices. And if the choices are not reasonable, they are many times the choices that fall outside the realm of legal actions. For example, an unreasonable choice under the influence of alcohol is driving and drunk driving in many, if not most, countries is illegal. And this is the process in which drugs/alcohol directly cause unacceptable behaviour sometimes potentially leading to violent crimes. Alcohol is legal in most countries around the world but drugs aren’t. And this is what we must challenge. My radical proposition is that we ban the sale and consumption of alcohol globally.

Critics of this ideology may argue this too excessive but let us remind our educated selves, that alcohol has yet to offer human race a positive contribution. Alcohol undeniably cause intoxication which can potentially lead to violent, aggressive behaviour that can potentially constitute to breaking the law in some cases. Alcohol damages the health of the heart, liver and the brain [1]. Alcohol can also cause mouth/throat cancer [1]. Alcohol can even become an addiction which is an issue on its own [2]. Addiction is a serious mental health issue that can potentially be dangerous for the patient and those around the addicted patient. And I’m not even done with mentioning all of the adverse effects by alcohol. So to argue that alcohol should not be banned just simply makes no sense.

Others may argue that even if alcohol was banned, some would still continue to possess and consume alcohol. While this is a completely valid concern, we must recall that under my proposed solution, possession and consumption of alcohol would constitute the action to be illegal and, consequently, the individual could potentially face legal ramifications associated with the illegal act. And this is a direct result of maintaining no corruption in society so that everyone is held accountable for their actions. And furthermore, the number of people who would continue to possess and consume alcohol under the above mentioned solution would drastically decrease because the general public is made up of by a majority of law abiding citizens. To say otherwise would require one to be completely cynical towards the human race.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against alcohol. I am against the intoxication that results from alcohol which is also the root cause of, not all, but many problems. If there was a way to prevent the intoxication completely, then I would not come up with this idea but, the reality is that there isn’t. And if we are truly serious in solving the core issues within today’s society, then we must stop trying to fool ourselves and accept that alcohol plays a major role.

I know that my 3 solutions mentioned above are quite idealistic and radical: education for all, eliminate greed and impose complete ban on sale and consumption of alcohol. But I do want to put this out there so that we can contemplate on each of the factors individually and think for ourselves what this world could be if the above solution was implemented. Education helps everyone to succeed which eliminates the need/desire to break the law and ruin lives. Lack of greed results in a lack of corruption which promotes accountability in the law and order system ensuring that all citizens are aware of the consequences of their actions. And banning alcohol eliminates the factor of making wrong decisions that could potentially be considered illegal. Let’s liberate ourselves from the status quo and truly challenge today’s world and be critical of it with an open mind; you will soon realize and accept that the solution above addresses the core themes in many crimes around the world.

[1] “Alcohol’s Effects on the Body.” National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). N.p., n.d. Web. 28 June 2016.

[2] “About Alcohol.” CAMH. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, n.d. Web. 28 June 2016.

Image citation: Problems and solutions. Digital image. About Careers. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 June 2016. <http://jobsearch.about.com/od/skills/fl/problem-solving-skills.htm&gt;.