Being Firm means Driving responsibility.

One of my distant relatives had a showdown at a family get- together one day.
After being pulled up for lawbreaking and being a menace to society.
A hot headed 25 year old.
Who stood with his arms folded and legs apart in front of the family patriarch.
What he said struck me.
He asked the patriarch  his father, "How come you never stopped me from doing this when I was young? All I got from you then was love and forgiveness".

True.
We do such a disservice to the young as leaders .
Whenever the words "strict" , " discipline" firmness" come up in conversations, both official and unofficial, there are naysayers who term these as constraints.
Freedom Blockers.
Words that breed negativity.
Anti -motivation.

Till we push our definition of freedom and free will to such an extent that lives are cut short ruthlessly.
Or Souls maimed for life.

What answer do we have, when these stare at us  in our face?

There is no answer, really.
Because we have decided to be liberal, shut our eyes, senses and sensibilities to all forms of indiscipline and law breaking around us.
Because we are free, after all.

Leaders. Whether we are leading a family, an office or a nation.
Let us not be blinded by a false sense of democracy, which reeks of indiscipline and lawlessness.
No one can be happy with this in the long run.
Those same people we were liberal about will ask us- why didn't you show us the path?

Being firm  means driving responsibility.
It means creating a sense of fear of the aftermath which all of us need to feel.
It means  punishment for actions, so that we learn.

Only then can we be responsible.
More importantly, only then can we be effective as  leaders.
And create a society where respect  and trust come to life again.