PROGRESSIVE � PERMISSIVE

This time my inner child was in a naughty and adamant mood. I could tell it by the way he was looking at the front page of the newspaper. He was not looking. He was gazing through and beyond the head lines. I peeked. The headline was about a High Court's ruling on gays…"India will join the other 126 progressive nations which have decriminalized homosexuality…"

Inner Child shook his head petulantly and murmured "I don't like it."

I said " Come now, child, be reasonable. This is the brave new 21st century. We must think progressively."

He glared at me red-eyed and replied, " I think the saying, 'Thus far and no further ' is basically false and self-defeating."

"What do you mean?"

"If you put one step after another and reach thus far, you can always put one MORE step."

"Come on, I said, be reasonable. There is a barrier, a limit to many things. You should know it.'

Child (with a wicked crooked smile) � "What if the barrier is moved further up?"

That was unexpected and it took some time for me to recover. By then, IC was on a 512 kpbs monologue.

"There is this country which had only one nudist colony. Gradually the country became more progressive and permissive. Two colonies grew up. Two became four, four became eight; you know geometric progression? Progress became a progression. Nudist colonies thrived like anthills. More progress. Streaking in public was legalized. Barriers were shifted further and further up the road. Soon those who were less than an insignificant fraction swelled and dubbed themselves minorities. Now they had a voice. Before anyone was aware the minority group had swollen into a majority. Progress picked up pace. The new majority brought on laws to tax those who were better clothed. Soon surcharge was levied on those who wore clothes. Progressively, super tax, super cess, what have you, - everything was thrown at those who dared to dress. Before you could say Godiva, wearing clothes was frowned upon.

The limit you said, does exist. The country (demockratic, progressive, freethinking) reached that limit by passing a law that wearing clothes in public was illegal. A thousand dollar fine for the first offence, six months for the second, five years for the third and lifer there onwards…

I tapped the Inner Child gently. He came back from whichever country he had been roaming.

" Are you all right?", I asked him.

"Oh yes," he replied, "You see now even tourists and dignitaries who visit that country had to obey the law. It was difficult at first but everybody got accustomed. Besides it was fun. The global village, see. The idea caught on as progress expanded its sphere. One by one other nations began to adopt the same glorious law…"

"Stop it!", I said severely.

"Not yet. You see, in that country a guy killed his friend in a fit of rage. He eloquently pleaded that he was overpowered by rage. Progressive thinkers understood and empathized with him. He was acquitted. After a dozen or so such incidences, the limits you said were raised and raised until they were out of sight. Now, in that country, killing in a fit of rage is no longer a criminal offence…"

"And next", the Inner Child began .

I plucked the newspaper from his hands, crumpled and threw it into the farthest corner of the room.

The Inner Child laughed heartily like a triumphant prankster and ran outside , to play in the garden.

Tags & Keywords : Court, law, gay, progress, permissiveness, nation, country, inner child