Decision Making

A group of children were playing near two railway tracks, one still in
use while the other disused. Only one child played on the disused track,
the rest on the operational track.

The train is coming, and you are just beside the track interchange. You
can make the train change its course to the disused track and save most
of the kids. However, that would also mean the lone child playing by the
disused track would be sacrificed. Or would you rather let the train go
its way?

Let's take a pause to think what kind of decision we could
make................



Most people might choose to divert the course of the train, and
sacrifice only one child. You might think the same way, I guess.
Exactly, I thought the same way initially because to save most of the
children at the expense of only one child was rational decision most
people would make, morally and emotionally. But, have you ever thought
that the child choosing to play on the disused track had in fact made
the right decision to play at a safe place?

Nevertheless, he had to be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends
who chose to play where the danger was. This kind of dilemma happens
around us everyday. In the office, community, in politics and especially
in a democratic society, the minority is often sacrificed for the
interest of the majority, no matter how foolish or ignorant the majority
are, and how farsighted and knowledgeable the minority are. The child
who chose not to play with the rest on the operational track was
sidelined. And in the case he was sacrificed, no one would shed a tear
for him.

The great critic Leo Velski Julian who told the story said he would not
try to change the course of the train because he believed that the kids
playing on the operational track should have known very well that track
was still in use, and that they should have run away if they heard the
train's sirens. If the train was diverted, that lone child would
definitely die because he never thought the train could come over to
that track! Moreover, that track was not in use probably because it was
not safe. If the train was diverted to the track, we could put the lives
of all passengers on board at stake! And in your attempt to save a few
kids by sacrificing one child, you might end up sacrificing hundreds of
people to save these few kids.

While we are all aware that life is full of tough decisions that need to
be made, we may not realize that hasty decisions may not always be the
right one.

"Remember that what's right isn't always popular... and what's popular
isn't always right."

Everybody makes mistakes; that's why they put erasers on pencils.