Who do you think breaks the law in our society? If you believe that only tough guys commit crimes, you may have to think again. Unlike in the movies, we can’t divide the world into bad guys and model citizens.
Real life is much more complex. In the same way that diseases range from the common cold to fatal forms of cancer, crimes vary in degree. For example, smoking in an elevator will inconvenience people, but much less than threatening them with a gun.
In addition to breaking the law themselves, people tolerate various levels of crime. Why can we tolerate some crimes? It may be that, by seeing others do something, we accept it more easily. For instance, most people will find it easier to speed on a highway when everybody else is driving over the speed limit. When people celebrate a sports championship, if they see someone breaking store windows, they might start breaking windows themselves or even steal from the store. So the people around us influence how much law-breaking we can tolerate.
We must also wonder whether seeing violence on television or reading about it in the newspapers every day makes us tolerate crime more than we should. We become used to seeing blood on the news on television, or in full color in newspapers and magazines. Because we see thousands of dead people on TV, maybe we just try to ignore the situation behind the violence.
If so many citizens tolerate violence and crime, or even commit crimes themselves, it may simply be because of the human mind. Our minds may not care about specific laws. Instead, our minds may have a system of values that usually prevents us from hurting other people to improve our own lives. Yet, when it comes to respecting the rights of a mass of anonymous (不知名的) individuals, we might not be so responsible. While most people would not steal a wallet containing $50, they may not mind cheating on taxes, because cheating on taxes does not hurt any one person. It hurts society, but “society” remains an abstract idea that is not as real as a neighbor or a friend’s friend.
When we realize that so many people have misunderstandings of law-breaking, it is not surprising that so many people tolerate crimes, or even break laws, including me. But how could we improve the level of honesty in our society? Would strict laws help make our society better? Probably not. Honesty will have to come from social pressure: in the family, at school, on the job, each and every one of us can encourage honesty by showing which behavior is unacceptable. And teaching respect should become everyone’s responsibility.
小题1:According to the author, “Real life is much more complex.” probably means
.
| A．there is a wide range of people and crimes in the real life |
| B．smoking in an elevator goes against laws in the real life |
| C．there are much more crimes than diseases in the real life |
| D．some model citizens sometimes break laws in the real life |
小题2:What does the author think of the people who cheat on taxes?
| A．They take no notice of the human mind. |
| B．They break the laws unaccepted in their minds. |
| C．They aren’t concerned about some particular laws. |
| D．They hurt other people to improve their own lives. |
小题3:People tolerate violence and crime because
.
| A．their behavior is the same as that of most other people |
| B．they pay no attention to the truth behind the crimes |
| C．most unlawful acts are not harmful to the individual |
| D．they hold mistaken beliefs about law-breaking |
小题4:What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?
| A．To discuss whether laws are strict enough. |
| B．To remind people to behave with honesty. |
| C．To show people the importance of education. |
| D．To explain why many people have criminal records. |