A Man's History Does Not Always Predict His Future

Some people always seem to think that people are bound to repeat their mistakes over and over, so if they have done something wrong or bad in the past, they are likely to do the same in the future. However you must think on the contrary - if a man has done wrong in the past and has had to pay for it, he is likely to remember and not make the same mistake again. This goes for everything from the small insignificant actions to the large and very major actions with severe outcomes. For instance, if a baby touches the hot stove, he will get burnt and learn that it is hot and not to touch it. Or on the larger scale, if a man commits a crime and has to do time in prison, he is more likely to remember that next time and not commit the crime. Even a great man like Henry Ford thinks this way. As a matter of fact, in his book My Life and Work, Henry Ford wrote, "we do not hire a man's history, we hire the man. If he has been in jail, that is no reason to say that he will be in jail again. I think, on the contrary, he is, if given a chance, very likely to make a special effort to keep out of jail." And Personally I think he is absolutely correct in this. Just because someone has done something in the past does not mean they are a bad person. Good people sometimes do bad things by accident or of no fault of their own. And of course we all make bad decisions every now and then, just because some people make different decisions does not always make them bad. Of course some people who go to jail are bad and do belong there, but I think the majority of people who get caught up in the legal system for the first time are not bad people they just did a few bad things and got caught. But if someone goes to jail chronically and just doesn't learn, then obviously there is something wrong with them. But I just wanted to make a point that I thought of while reading.