I implore people not to be fooled by the veil of deception that our government attempts to present as a judicial system. The system in place now is based on punishment, not rehabilitation. Punishment is a function that destroys the human soul and this is why crime and hatred are ramped up in this country. The only way to reduce recidivism and to bring the crime rate down is by making people better inside prison and in society.
We cannot continue to use prisons for punishment to make people worse. Instead of mandatory sentencing guidelines in the courts we need to instill mandatory rehabilitation programs. Without knowledge there cannot be change! This view of justice, no matter how small, cannot exist in our Judicial system. Socrates said; “For when people denounce injustice, it is because they are afraid of suffering wrong”! This seems to have become the springboard of action in this country when it comes to mass shootings, police killing unarmed men of color, and gang violence and this should not be the reason.
It should not be fear that governs Justice. This opens our society to being exploited by our government as we saw when the Patriot Act was enacted after the 911 attacks. The Patriot act abolished many of the Constitutional Rights of United State’s citizens based on fear.
Punishment should never be the norm of our society. For Justice to truly work it cannot be thoughtless, it must be equal to all, and it cannot be established in hatred. But most importantly its intent must be for the betterment of harmed parties and responsible parties, and the community. We know the system in place does not work and therefore is a seed that ultimately produces evil. We must transform our Judicial system for the generations to come because all our lives are entwined in the fabric of life, and the fate of one is actually the fate of each of us!
Photo by Mitchel Lensink on Unsplash