Reforming the Criminal is Critical to Us becoming a Better Nation

   If a politician were to gaze across the political landscape, deciding which issues were most important, which ones, then, would be most important?

  Is the righteousness of a nation of any value? Is it the most important? Do I draw disfavor from those who seek to keep religion out of politics for even bringing up the righteousness of a nation?

  It is important to me. A righteous nation will not be so divided, one person against another. A righteous nation will not have a high crime rate. A righteous nation will not have the murders and thefts and corruption. A righteous nation will have more peace. It will accomplish more, because it will not be so detracted by divisions. A righteous nation will reach out to its marginalized members, those in need.

  So, what are the issues of our day -- the most important ones?

  I believe our prison system, and our judicial system are at the top of the list. How you go about reforming the criminal element is a great determinant of the society you will become. If you reform the prisoner, how big an act is that? How much a difference does it makes to the fabric of your society?

   Imagine a country without crime. No, we are not likely to attain that, at least with our limited view of the future, it would not seem something on a near horizon. Still, is it such a bad goal? Is it such an ill-advised objective? If you do not even attempt to do something, you certainly do not have much chance of getting it done. But, if you set out to attain it, you set in place the chance of getting there. You at least have a process and a plan for getting there.

  There are things we are not doing with our prisoners, with our probation and parole, that could make a difference. One, is love. Do not laugh and mock at this. If you do not love a person, they are not likely to change. Love is the most powerful thing in the world. If we leave this out of our judicial system, we are foolish. We mock at the most powerful tool at our disposal.

  We fail to provide the prisoners good associations. We toss them into prison to mix with other criminals, to influence each other. We take them out of society, where they had least have some chance of having good influences, and we place them in an environment where a greater proportion of those they rub elbows with are not of savory character. They learn from their jail mates to be better criminals when they get out, that's all. 

  What about leading the prisoner through what we call the steps of repentance? Why not? This is a process that has been proven to help. Why are we not using it? Recognize what you've done wrong. Feel remorse. Provide restitution when you can. Resolve to do better and to never repeat the act. 

  And, give the prisoner chance to succeed. We need a parole and probation system that seeks to place the ex-con in situations where they can succeed. We need this post-prison system to be providing them jobs, not just demanding that they find them. We need a post-prison system that brings in the communities they move to, providing them friends, and providing the welcome of that community.