Tasneem Kabir
We’ve all grown up listening to tales of and allusions to the legendary and heroic outlaw in English folklore, Robin Hood. To put it crudely, he was a skilled archer who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor. Let us attempt putting the persona of Robin Hood under the lens of retrospection, considering the prevalent mindset and scenario.
Robin Hood, though existing with evidence that is less than robust, his fame within the masses is hard to ignore. The masses attribute righteousness to Robin Hood, exclaiming that the rich have surplus and hence, can be robbed. In this moment of blinded admiration, they forget that wealth can come either by acquisition through ancestry or by toiling into the night while others sleep. Do you think it is right for person A to get portions of person B’s wealth, even though B has worked for it all while A hasn’t done a thing to alleviate his situation of destitution in any way? I think not.
The poor, what with Robin Hood among them, had no reason to strive, no reason to advance, no reason to endeavour, to excel. Why? Because Robin Hood had their back and wouldn’t let them sleep hungry, even if it meant stealing portions from their fortunate counterparts using nothing but brute force. Do you think that the poor could have progressed or even willed themselves to labour away towards prosperity? I think not.
Logic has it that the rich must consider it a moral duty incumbent upon themselves to help with their nimiety the economically weaker members of the community. This calls for charities, philanthropy, donations and the like. For those wealthy men who fail to realise it, will forceful plunder and robbery ignite in their hearts the flame to uplift others out of destitution? I think not.
All in all, Robin Hood may have singled the right cause to employ his skill and strength for, but the approach comes out as more than objectionable. The model of Robin Hood helps us understand the concept of inclusive thinking, where we all march towards ways and strategies that carry forward each and every being, and eschew shenanigans that bring dismay to one faction, even if momentarily elevating the other! As we grow, life attempts to introduce to us the concept of complemetarity. Picking the right cause doesn’t suffice. Picking the right cause along with the right approach does.
Remember, provocation is on the opposite lane of resolution and not every single way of doing the right thing is right.
