The Soul of Society

The Soul of Society

By John Kazerooni

Once upon a time, in a prosperous country, a child was born into comfort and abundance. His parents adored him so completely that anything he wished for appeared before him. Luxury became ordinary, indulgence became the norm, and soon he believed the world existed merely to satisfy his desires.

But wealth could no longer delight him. Gifts, jewels, and treasures tasted empty. He had acquired every material thing, yet he remained bound by one intolerable constraint: consequence.

So one day he told his parents, “Buy me impunity. I don’t want to be limited by consequence, and I refuse to answer to anyone for my wrongdoing.”

And out of blind love, they obeyed.

Yet the tragedy was not their action. The tragedy was that impunity could be purchased at all.

In that country, such a privilege existed for those willing to pay. Judges, lawyers, clerks, officers, justice staff, politicians, and leaders cooperated. And the people looked away. Society murmured, shrugged, and permitted the unthinkable. No outrage stirred. No voice rose. Accountability had long been treated as a negotiable commodity.

And why?

Because none of these figures—judge, lawyer, officer, politician, or leader—were outsiders.

They were the sons and daughters of that very country.

They had eaten its bread, absorbed its values, laughed at its tables, and been shielded by its silence. Their corruption was no anomaly—it was a mirror. They reflected the society that shaped them.

They sold verdicts, influence, and outcomes openly, without shame, because the people had stopped demanding truth. Families excused them. Neighbors feared speaking. Elders admired wealth more than fairness. Privilege had become the highest law.

The real problem was never the spoiled child.

The real problem was a country that allowed such a child to grow unchecked.

When a society stops holding itself accountable, injustice becomes ordinary. Theft, betrayal, violence, adultery—these thrive not in darkness but in the full light of a nation that no longer cares. It is the people who become blind; and the child walks freely through their silence. His actions are not his fault alone; the quiet complicity surrounding him is the greater sin.

He grew immune to wrongdoing because wrongdoing was permitted.

Every nod, every softened word, every excuse strengthened his belief that he owed nothing to anyone.

So ask yourself:

Which is the deeper moral crime—the child who demands impunity be bought, or the society that raises judges, lawyers, justice officers, politicians, and leaders willing to sell it?

The soul of a society is its collective conscience.

When courage fades, when admiration of wealth replaces respect for law, when comfort outweighs moral duty, the entire country becomes sick. Judges, lawyers, officers, politicians, leaders—they do not emerge from nowhere. They are molded by the hands, hearts, and values of the society that raises them.

To heal a society, the people must awaken.

They must speak when silence feels safer.

They must resist when surrender seems easier.

They must reject the bargains that allow injustice to flourish.

They must teach, protect, and uphold the law—not as merchandise, not as a privilege of the powerful, but as a shield for all.

Only when a country rediscovers its conscience can justice return to its rightful place.

A child cannot corrupt a nation alone; corruption requires the quiet approval of many.

A society that neglects its conscience will raise generation after generation of children who do not understand responsibility, fairness, or consequence.

Yet the soul of society can breathe again—if the people remember that judges, lawyers, justice officers, politicians, leaders, and every keeper of the law are not apart from them, but created by them.

A guardian of justice can never be more just than the society that shapes his heart.

So ask yourself:

Which wound is deeper—the one who betrays justice, or the many who allow betrayal to thrive?

Both wounds cut deep: one weakens the law; the other weakens the conscience. 

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