The fill of its jails 
reflects 
the character of a nation

   The character of America might be evident in how we go about filling our jails.
   Meaning, we are the most incarcerated nation on earth. One in four of all the earth's prisoners are locked away inside our jails.
   No, I do not know. But, I certainly wonder if we aren't just a little more picky than the rest of the world. Some places, you beat your wife, and that's no big deal. Yes, some places, you smoke a joint, and no one cares.
   Let this not go unnoticed: The more rules you have, the more prisoners. No rules at all would mean no prisoners.
   You only get in trouble when you have a lot of rules. People break then, and you send them to jail. And, before you know it, all your rules results in your waking up one day with someone shouting in your face: "Freedom!? What do you mean by that? You toss more people in jail than any nation, any nation on earth! You are the most oppressive nation of all!"
   I said our ranking as the most incarcerating nation on earth reflects our character, didn't I? Well, let me get to the bottom of what I'm digging at:
  We are judgmental.
   Judgmental -- like few nations are. That is what our jails should tell us: Judgmental.
   Divide that word however you will. Say we have higher expectations. That works. That would suggest we have more values than other nations. Say pride is reflected in our imprisonments. Say we think we are better than others, so we sent a lot of people to jail we shouldn't because we are more about judgment than mercy
   I guess that works, too.
   No, I don't know the breakdown on who we are sending to jail. How much of the pie do drug offenders make up? How big is the piece marked, "Gun and weapon offenders"? Do we include immigrants awaiting immigration trials?
   Those things also reflect on us. Who you toss in prison speaks of who you judge to be criminal. If you toss people in prison you shouldn't, that might reflect some of that pride we were talking about.
   Think on this: If we toss more people in jail for mass shootings -- just supposing that is true -- what does it say about us, that there should be more people involving themselves in mass shootings than any place on earth?
   If you are producing more people who fall in the category of mass killers, yes, it might reflect a trait that it running through much of your society.