We live and take so much for granted. Like the view that society is something that we must all fit into. It never occurs to us, that we just happen to be born into a community of people who live by certain accepted rules. Rules like the law of the land, for example.And what if we don’t desire to live by those rules? What if we don’t agree with them? Well, there are mechanisms in place to change laws, but these are alienated from the common man, and are too political in nature, and moreover, require a large consensus. So what do we do if we don’t want to live by these rules? Can’t we just….leave?
But here’s the rub. How do we leave society? Every piece of habitable land on the planet is claimed by a community with it’s own set of rules. And these communities are huge. Whole swathes of land are claimed that are never even used. How do we say, “I don’t want to play by your rules. I also don’t want to insult you by breaking your laws. Let me go. I’m leaving.”?
Answer. We can’t. In my eyes, the situation is crystal clear. When we turn 18, we make an unspoken pact with society. We agree to use facilities like roads, monetary instruments, public spaces, protection of the law enforcement agencies and like, in return for a portion of our income, and compliance with the laws. We also agree that if we break the laws, we will undergo punishment according to the laws of the land. The problem is, that society assumes that we agree to this pact! Supposing I don’t, then what? If I break a law, I’m hauled off to jail even though I didn’t agree to play by the rules in the first place, and this society won’t even allow me to get off it’s land!
This is terribly unfair. In my opinion, when a crime is committed, the offender must be asked whether or not he wants to stay in society. If he says yes, then he can be punished according it’s laws. If he says no, he must be transported to an area, which does not belong to anyone, or anything. A sort of ‘No Man’s Land’. There he can be free, and make his own way. In other words, banishment. It’s difficult to come up with a fairer proposition than this. Repeat offenders within the society, can be banished automatically since it’s obvious they don’t want to play by that particular society’s rules.
Most probably, this ‘No Man’s Land’ (NML), will be a terrible place where all the criminals who wanted nothing to do with society will be living. As such, I doubt it if anyone will choose to go there. But this way, society makes it clear that people can leave when they want, and shows respect for the individuals choice.
Every suspect, captured and accused will opt to go there initially and then make their way back to the mainstream.