We were treated to a supposedly surprising revelation this past week when it was announced that we have the greatest number of incarcerated people in the world. According to the Pew Center on the States, one in every 100 American adults is in federal prison, state prison, or local jails. In raw numbers, there are 2.3 million incarcerated adults in the U.S. and the states spent $49 billion last year on prisons alone - more than on education.
The reporting goes on with additional hand wringing in pointing out that we have more people in prison than does China which purportedly only has 1.5 million in jail. I'm sure that is really an accurate tally of their prison population, given the entire population is already anything but free in body and spirit.
The prison population is also disparate in terms of race, with blacks in prison far outnumbering whites in both males and females, and it's especially in young adults. "These sad facts reflect a very distorted set of national priorities," said Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, referring to the full report. "Perhaps, if we adequately invested in our children and in education, kids who now grow up to be criminals could become productive workers and taxpayers."
Once again, a politician says all the right things for the benefit of the electorate, but all the wrong things in coming up with a solution to the problem. I agree there is a very distorted set of national priorities. But it's not what Sen. Sanders believes.
Parents are neither required nor allowed to be parents. When I stepped out of line at school, corporal punishment was allowed. Had I been dumb enough to inform my parents that I had been punished at school, I would have received a second bit of attitude adjustment. I remember visiting the principal once in grade school. Fortunately, it only involved a stern lecture, but the heartbeats expended and the anticipation of death during the trip through the hallways was enough to reform me forever - OK, at least a week of being good.
If some child vandalized a school or other property, the parents were required to fork over the cost of fixing things. Today, our court system has found a right of privacy that allows young girls to receive abortion counseling and even abortions themselves without any notification to the parent! A teacher threatens a child with punishment - the aggrieved parents sue everyone they can. Kids are bulletproof from punishment of any consequence. Is it any wonder they grow into criminals when they realize they can get away with just about anything? Just how are you going to invest in children and in education to fix this situation?
Speaking of investing, how much have we invested in welfare to help bring people out of poverty? How effective has it been in reducing poverty? I think the answers are pretty obvious. What has really happened is that we have created a class of people in the country who are totally dependent on the government and their numbers keep growing. And would you guess what segment of society is the source for most of the prison population?
One of the other issues is that prison is now seen as just another way of living by many people. You haven't paid your dues if you haven't spent some time in the slammer or the pen. It's a badge of honor and it's not so bad because many of your friends, acquaintances, or gang members are already there so you have a built in support group inside or outside; it really doesn't matter. A lot of prison officials will tell you the inmates run a lot more of prison life than anyone will admit.
Could it be that a lot of prisoners live better on the inside? Meals are free. Uniforms are free. Medical and dental care is free. Out east, an imate has requested a sex-change operation. He's currently getting "gender identification" counseling. Do you want to pay that bill? You have television, libraries, exercise rooms and many other things - all courtesy of the taxpayer.
I've seen prisons in other countries where your family had to bring you meals every day. If your family didn't feed you, you begged food or you starved. Do you think our present career criminals would look forward to meager meals, no television, and 23 hours a day in a cell? You might change some attitudes, but there are too many of us who would view that as "cruel and unusual." I bet crime victims would differ in that view.
In my opinion, we'll never fix things until we re-learn what my parents knew - discipline is a form of love; and being overly generous and granting freedom for someone too immature to handle it are forms of neglect.
Isn't it time our legislators restored the rights and responsibilities of the parents? That's step one in fixing this problem. I'm just afraid too many lawyers will stand in the way of that happening.
Well, that's what's been on my mind.
