| The true measure of social consciousness is prisons. | | | | land of the free, is locking people away. Can it be |
| They tell more about society than any travelogue | | | | that America only pays lip service to the whole idea |
| possibly could. They are the product of ignorance as | | | | of liberty? I believe so. It is too much like justice to |
| a tradition and undeniable social regression. Send a | | | | really get a handle on the meaning of freedom. |
| law breaker to prison and convert him to a viscious, | | | | Drugs! Not the 183 billion dollars' worth on the |
| vengeful beast. Then send him back where he came | | | | government approved, monopoly supplied drug |
| from. Let the taxpayer suffer from his crime. Let the | | | | market, but the ones a once free people choose |
| taxpayer pay for his maintenance and conversion. Let | | | | from a different list, the "bad" drugs. The great war |
| the taxpayer support his family. Let his children grow | | | | on drugs, lost before it began, but continued to |
| up with no father. See if they dare follow in his | | | | expand government power and control; is now |
| footsteps. Let the taxpayer pay for any feeble | | | | responsible for about half of the nation's prison |
| attempt at his rehabilitation. Let the taxpayer bear | | | | population, which is the largest in the world, I think I |
| the cost of every crime he commits after release, | | | | heard. |
| his arrest, and trial(s). Then repeat the whole process. | | | | There is no doubt in a majority of American minds, |
| Prisons everywhere are no less than government | | | | that a person who uses any drug not yet approved |
| sponsored war on society. The least valuable social | | | | by government, should have their lives destroyed by |
| creation ever devised. | | | | prison before the drugs can do much harm. They |
| Their primary social function is to strike fear in the | | | | think the prohibition of drugs makes people safer, |
| hearts of society at large. If you don't eat your | | | | while the inflated costs make it necessary to rob |
| spinach, you will end up in prison. If you don't obey | | | | them and burglarize their homes to feed extravagant |
| every rule the professional rule makers invent, day in, | | | | addictions. What wise and merciful people! They were |
| day out, you will go to prison. Making punishments fit | | | | victims of twisted logic, long before the robbery. It is |
| crimes is beyond the creative powers of | | | | prison that has become the most powerful narcotic in |
| bureaucracy. Instead, they choose the humiliation and | | | | America. We know if we build a hundred more, there |
| degradation of caging and totally controlling the life of | | | | will not be enough. How long before it becomes a |
| a lawbreaker. To a lesser extent, they do the same | | | | crime in the land of the free, to publish what I'm |
| to all who care about him. They discourage telephone | | | | saying? |
| communication, meaningful financial support and | | | | The past four generations have been told to go off |
| visitation. Inside the prison walls they heap | | | | to foreign lands and fight and die to keep America |
| punishment upon punishment, because simply caging | | | | free. The people who tell us this, then build more |
| people is too good for them, no matter what the | | | | prisons to keep all the free people. If we took our |
| crime. | | | | high school students to visit prisons and gave them a |
| While we are at it, we ought to take a look at crime | | | | term paper assignment to come up with better |
| itself and the reasons for its increase. I'm only | | | | punishments, we could begin to learn justice and |
| guessing and my guess is that ten times more | | | | transform the existing Just Us system. |
| behaviors are crimes and felonies than were so in the | | | | Capital punishment. The Bible says you must have |
| year 1900. That is, bureaucracies are in the business | | | | two witnesses to indict on a capital crime. We can |
| of creating crime. Such bureaucracies sincerely believe | | | | assume the qualifiers of honorable, credible witnesses, |
| they are being paid to modify human behavior. They | | | | not criminals with offers of reduced sentences for |
| are running the ultimate social experiment, where the | | | | testimony. The two witness provision made it harder |
| result is seldom questioned. One punishment fits | | | | to indict. I'm not sure that circumstantial evidence is |
| every crime they can create. | | | | acceptable as one witness either. The point is that |
| A man is imprisoned for theft and released with | | | | under Bible law, you are more likely to free a capital |
| murder on his mind and in his heart. That's | | | | criminal than to execute an innocent person. DNA |
| progressive! Society can think of nothing better | | | | testing has confirmed that we do it the other way |
| because society doesn't think at all. Society closes its | | | | round. Execute the innocent to be sure and punish |
| eyes and turns its back. Society doesn't want to | | | | the guilty. |
| know about life in the cages, which is in reality, slow | | | | President Bush has no problem with this. He was |
| death. Take a man's life one day at a time. Then turn | | | | pleased to do it routinely as the Governor of the |
| him loose and see how he does. Empty the country's | | | | great, error free State of Texas. DNA has proven |
| zoos and see how the animals do. Prisons testify of | | | | otherwise in Texas. Did President Bush ever apologize |
| man's inhumanity as well as war does. | | | | to the families of those he wrongfully executed? |
| President Bush threatens American justice on HIS | | | | Does he have any clue how many innocent lives he |
| enemies. See it at Guantanamo Bay or up the road | | | | has taken as Governor or President? Does he even |
| from where you live. American and justice cannot be | | | | care? We know now he is all American. He is |
| properly used in the same sentence. Americans know | | | | probably the most appropriate representative of |
| less about justice than any other subject, save | | | | American society we ever had. "Don't bother us with |
| mercy and responsibility. Blind obedience is their forte. | | | | details. We have people to kill and prisons to build." |
| Prisons are the expressions of the very ugliest | | | | No one should be surprised that we are the most |
| Americans and they all support prisons without | | | | despised nation on earth. We are worthy of hatred. |
| question. | | | | Foreign policy is all about Just Us too. |
| I have heard vague rumblings of a new compassion | | | | An America that refuses to look at its prisons is like |
| in an effort to lower government "justice" costs. The | | | | the vampire who cannot tolerate his own reflection. |
| Governor of Arizona is considering stiff fines for | | | | Until it does so, it is a society with a seared |
| driving under the influence of alcohol, instead of | | | | conscience, fit for destruction and little else. |
| confinement, which leaves whole families without | | | | Destruction by the pound. Destruction by the ton. |
| support. Make a "criminal" pay (Us) instead of the | | | | Run and hide. We have it coming! |
| taxpayer. There is a novel idea. I've heard a number | | | | (PUBLISHERS! Free Promotion Here - Now! If you will |
| of bureaucracies are looking at treating drug addicts | | | | leave a comment and your URL or hyperlink on this |
| instead of locking them away. | | | | or any article of mine: 1.) Some of my on - site |
| The Bible deals quite extensively with crime and | | | | readers will visit your website. 2.) I will visit your |
| punishment, but then, what would God know? | | | | website. If I like what I find, I will write a positive |
| Property crimes are punished by restitution and | | | | review and publish it here at EzineArticles. You may |
| multiple restitution, depending on whether the loss | | | | delete this generous offer when re - publishing this |
| interferes with the victim's livelihood. There is a silly | | | | article. |
| idea, huh? The greatest growth industry in this great | | | | |