Have we become a little too liberal?

And there is certainly a lot more empathy shown to our fellow humans than there used to be at the beginning of the century when a ‘get the life you deserve’ philosophy prevailed.

But as is the case with all pendulums, sometimes there is a danger that it might swing a little too far in the opposite direction which can, in some cases, be just as detrimental.

During the trial of the parents who were eventually sentenced to two years for appalling neglect of their five children, this newspaper received a couple of criticisms for printing the pictures of the childrens’ rooms and the squalor they endured over the years.

Why? It was almost as though such horrible sights were an affront to the nice, cosy little bubble we prefer to live in.

But the reality is that just because we don’t see something with our own eyes it doesn’t mean it is not happening.

The child abuse cases that have emerged from Rotherham are proof of that. There is a danger that we have started to believe the sugar-coating on our lives now that many of us now live day-to-day in relative comfort.

But human nature will always be what it will be and while we might stamp out some heinous behaviour in our society we will never completely be rid of it.

The parents who were given a two year jail sentence for years of neglect of their children were due to have their term reviewed this week as it is now considered too lenient.

Those children will be living for the rest of their lives with the psychological and emotional damage they had to endure.

Our modern liberal attitudes have made us kinder and more understanding but that doesn’t mean we should stop taking notice of what is going on around us and we certainly shouldn’t be frightened to acting on our instincts.

All the signs were there that these children were being neglected which proves that sometimes we shouldn’t just give people the benefit of the doubt.

If we believe something is wrong we should stand up and shout about it.