THE LIFE WE SEEK

The Life We Seek ~ 448 ~ rectitude, posters in railway stations all over the country proclaim that “Ticketless Travel is a Social Evil”. There is a certain naive enthusiasm about railway authorities who hope to reverse their heavy losses through a poster campaign of this type, for posters really do nothing to prevent ticketless travel. If there is to be an end to such dishonesty, the impetus has to come from the public itself. Merely labelling ticketless travel a “social evil” will not set in motion any great measure of reform. Similar campaigns in the news media tell us that “Crime Does Not Pay.” Yet crime figures all over the world continue their upward spiral. Clearly, worldly punishment is not enough to wean people away from criminal habits. Again, with great naivete, the walls of government buildings are pasted all over with posters which are meant to impress upon government employees the evils of corruption. “To Bribe and to Take Bribes is an Evil”, they preach in a variety of languages. But inside the very walls proclaiming this message, bribery continues unabated. One is forced to the conclusion that government propaganda is in no way effective. Corruption continues to spread even as more and more posters are stuck on the walls. In railway