Legalise Compassion
BULLETIN Saturday, June 22, 2002
Someone is hurt, possibly by an employee. You want to help, but the lawyers or insurers warn you not to take responsibility or provide concrete aid – lest your action be taken as an admission of guilt.
This practice is socially destructive. It outlaws compassion. We can now give this curse a name – the Hollingworth Dilemma. But there is a simple solution, which could enhance our society overnight.
Let the government legalise compassion. Let it say that any party can provide succour and material aid to any person who might or might not have been improperly treated by that party – without any implication as to guilt. It could be called the Hollingworth Act.
Even where the victimisation might appear to be unproven or faked, some organisations might prefer to give aid just in case. And believe it or not, there are some people who like to help even when they’re clearly not responsible!
Let’s free ourselves of the cynical liability principles which today forbid decent human responses in times of trouble.
Philip O'Carroll