Answer:
What if the world were free from corruption?
It is hard to imagine, isn’t it? A world completely free of corruption? We are used to thinking of our fellow human beings as corrupt, jealous, greedy, selfish. We are used to the news of corrupt governments, of politicians stealing our money. We are also used to our own corruption.
Maybe that last sentence surprised some readers a bit. We don’t like to think of ourselves as corrupt. But the truth is bitter on that matter: we are. We are corrupt when we tell a lie to get things to work out the way we want them to. We are corrupt when the cashier gives us more change than he should, and we don’t give it back. We are corrupt when we buy products that have harmed people and nature to be manufactured.
Now try to imagine what it would be like if we all quit that type of behavior and replaced it with better, healthier ones. If we were to tell the truth, we would probably become gentler, kinder. The truth can be harsh. So, in order to not lie, we would have to learn to be transparent but in a nice, sweet way. If we chose our products with awareness, factories would have no choice but to improve their methods. If we didn’t teach our kids that it is OK to keep the extra coins, they wouldn’t grow up to find other crimes acceptable and even normal.
Let’s suppose we accomplished all that and more. We wake up one day knowing our money is safe. Our new cell phone will not be snatched from our hands while we’re waiting on the sidewalk. Our country’s rulers are in fact working to make our lives better and easier. Our kids learn good values from everyone, everywhere, even on TV. In short, we wake up in an almost perfect world. Almost. A world without corruption wouldn’t necessarily be free of diseases, accidents, arguments, break-ups. But it would be a more pleasant place to live in. When we get rid of a problem (in a very Maslow-pyramid way), our brain is free to focus on something else. If I’m hungry, I need to eat before I can focus on finishing that paper that’s due Friday.
If corruption is surrounding us, we might be too distracted by it to focus on other matters. A world free of corruption would be one in which we all trust one another to a great extent, allowing us to worry and take care of health, personal, emotional, and psychological problems we would, otherwise, have lessened energy to address.
Note: feel free to change anything.
