THE CASES OF SPECIAL PLEADING

REFLECTIONS

Wednesday 22nd April’09

Cases of special pleading spate the world we live today. It is a personal disease that is caused by the effect our emotions. The desire to be content and the selfishness that sprouts from it has led to the human race making rules that they themselves never follow but accept the world to never break it. Everyone is trying to manipulate facts and laws to get away with things they are unwilling to accept themselves and hence make exceptions for the law only for themselves and use conflicting reason when doing so.
In the movie ‘Khudha Kai Liye’ Mariam’s father hypocritically continues having a live in relationship with a white woman while refuses to let Mariam marry David. He tricks her and takes her in a remote village on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Here he marries her to her cousin and then abandons the village saying that the toilet was really bad. This is a complete case of special pleading which is based on his desire of wanting his own sins to be forgiven but not losing his partner. He says he loves his partner but disregards the same feelings Mariam had for David. To add to the irony of the situation he says to his family there is no harm in what he is doing as everyone does it in Britain yet when it comes to Mariam who is actually a British citizen, it has suddenly become wrong. He uses the dual cultures that he belongs to and creates a mixture of reason that lacks any logic and empty from any other emotions but self-interest and desire.
Cases of special pleading have plagued the world’s history as well. For example Hitler as a leader advocated the use of a set timetable and the importance of working a lot with utmost precision however in contrast to what he said he stood for, Hitler used to get up at any time he wanted (usually very late) and follow no set pattern of the day. He also used to go to work really less. His words were mostly followed by the people and failure to keep with the set times often led to punishments especially in the youth camps.
Recently America asked India to reduce its Carbon footprint while the amount of carbon they emit is the most in the world. This hypocrisy was also followed at the end of the First World War when the unjust Treaty of Versailles was being forced upon Germany. Since Britain and France were the victor nations, they forced Germany to disarm to nothing but 6 battleships and 100000 men taking the excuse that it was one of the clauses of Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points but later refused to do so themselves later. This caused anger in the Germans and became one of the reasons for the rise of the Nazis. These cases of special pleading mostly resulted in negative consequences. However they only affect the area of History and Ethics. Special Pleading is really not seen in science but for science examples including the numerous arms and technology races that have recurred in History and still is happening now, in India as well in the form of the Nuclear Deal.