‘Horror of Horrors’ | Shirley Richards warns Jamaicans of moral slippage in society

In a letter to the editor, Shirley Richards, attorney-at-law and executive member of the Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society (JCHS), cited recent international developments and academic observations to argue that the world is experiencing a dangerous "moral slippage".

Richards pointed to the aftermath of the Lindsay Clancy case in the United States, noting with alarm that some women are now insisting they have the right to kill their children. She contrasted this with the famous "The Lottery" teaching experiment by Professor Kay Haugaard of California.

According to Richards, Professor Haugaard taught Shirley Jackson's short story — which centers on human sacrifice — for over two decades. While initial classes responded with outrage, the reaction shifted drastically over the years. In a recent class, Richards wrote, there was no moral response. One student, passionate about saving whales and rain forests, showed no concern for the human sacrifice in the story. Another student defended the act, stating, "if it's a part of a person's culture, we are taught not to judge”.

"Professor Haugaard said she gave up as no one in the class would take a stand against human sacrifice," Richards wrote.

Richards, citing author Os Guinness, argued that the concept of evil has deteriorated from "sin" defined theologically, to "crime" defined legally, to "sickness" defined only in psychological categories.

"Atrocities such as the killing of one's own children are no longer soundly condemned, as such atrocities according to the modern mind now fall within shades of grey," she stated. "It should concern us all that certain behaviours and activities have now moved from grey to green with some now draped in the language of rights."

For Jamaica, where daily killings have become a grim reality, Richards warned against becoming desensitized.

"For us Jamaicans, having grown numb by daily killings, let us not forget that the taking of a life is a horrible act," she wrote. "The taking of the life of one's own child can only be classified as being horror of horrors."