In this time of national debate on serious issues and resolutions for the New Year, may I be permitted to make a simple suggestion? How about if each one of us just resolve to do his/her job correctly; i.e. honestly and to the best of his or her ability? A banal thought? Maybe, but something banal happened that got me thinking.

Outside the Sunday “la foire” where I buy my vegetables, a car was badly parked, blocking an important side-road. So what, you will say, it’s a traffi c offence – no big deal. Aha! The incident became interesting when the owner (Mr.X) appeared and tried several “tricks” of charm and threat on the two members of the police force who verbalized him, but to no avail the police officers proceeded to issue a ticket.

The woman police officer was particularly correct, punctilious and determined to do her job correctly. Finding his protestations (his arguments – I parked for only a few seconds – were lies, incidentally, as I witnessed myself) not being of any help, Mr. X then whipped out his mobile phone, turned away and proceeded to phone a “friend”. Needless to say I heard most of his conversation, which was merely to ask this (infl uential?) friend to come to his rescue immediately and sort out the problem. The friend was to meet him at the nearest Police Station – Quartier Militaire – and arrange the matter. He then collected his ticket and drove off, presumably confident of having done some public good.

As a bystander, all I could do in the circumstances was to congratulate the police officers on trying to do their work properly, and offer my help as eventual witness if needed. It will be really interesting to follow up this case and see what comes out of it, if there would be anything.

But what sort of society are we building, for ourselves and our children, when wrongdoers can act publicly with such insolence of authority and can try to bypass the law with such impunity? Are these the building blocks of our legal system and the rule of law? More to the point: how can we expect the police to carry out their work if one whole section of the population feels they are immune to the Law?

This is why I am suggesting that each one of us resolves to do his/her job correctly in the New Year, while following up and reporting those of our co-citizens who are not doing the same.

Could it work? Who knows? But it may be worth the effort.