A Thief of Right

'When you kill a man, you steal a life; you steal his wife's right to a husband, rob a children of his father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness'. 'Every other sin is a variation of theft'

It is a rather interesting philosophy espaused by Baba to Amir Jan in the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.

When I think about it, it is almost plausible. I never thought how lie can be so closely related to stealing. But then again I remembered this one Malay proverb 'Siakap Senohong Gelama Ikan Duri, Bercakap bohong lama-lama jadi pencuri' (Carp, fishes with thorn, tell lie often, then becomes a thief)

Indeed, by lying or not telling the truth a person does not only hoard information which can probably be had once the hoard is removed or by making it more transparent but more importantly, the person is stealing someone's right to the truth which is possibly almost similar to stealing the right to life.

I believe this pilosophy is a rather powerful element in creating a civilized society. It requires one to be honest, trustworty and truthful not to steal that right to the truth. It also encompasses all aspects of lying. The bottom line is, a person's right has been denied and those who denied it has to be none other than a thief or a group of thieves. So, in the current climate of missing files, documents and so on, it seems there are many thieves among us! Hopefully they are not the majority lest we become part of a Society of Thieves. Perhaps a Society ofMonkeys (as some people who thought they are clever by half used to think about bloggers) is always better than a Society of Thieves!