| As in nearly all things, America has been of | | | | numerological charts and reports; literacy |
| two minds concerning the rehabilitation of | | | | tests. Poor readers are non readers and have |
| criminals. One camp believes the more severe | | | | a lifetime social handicap until they want to |
| and lengthy the punishment, the less | | | | read well. Probations should continue until |
| opportunity a criminal will have to re | | | | literacy is achieved. Once a person can read |
| offend. Lock them up and throw away the key. | | | | well and wants to do so, they can learn |
| Statistics prove this camp wrong and | | | | anything else they so choose. This opens a |
| alternatives are far from their concern. They | | | | world of options previously denied. |
| are the law and order people who have a | | | | |
| strong appeal to a society that fearfully | | | | Lives of total dependency in cages help no |
| sees itself as victims. | | | | one. Not keepers, the prisoners or the |
| | | | society trying to protect itself. To treat a |
| The other camp wants to rehabilitate | | | | person as though they will never have an |
| criminals but can seldom raise the needed | | | | opportunity for revenge and then releasing |
| economic support to initiate and evaluate | | | | them with hearts full of fear, resentment, |
| rehabilitation programs. These are folks who | | | | anger and rage, guarantees that society will |
| know that no life is beyond redemption or | | | | pay a price for the way they treat people who |
| incapable of productive work. | | | | were most often fellow victims, long before |
| | | | they turned to crime. |
| Rehabilitation has failed so often because it | | | | |
| rests on the idea of stripping every right | | | | In Orwellian double speak, society talks of |
| from a person, throwing them in a cage, | | | | caging people as criminals paying a debt to |
| isolating them from the larger society and | | | | society. The fact is the reverse. Society is |
| destroying any sense of personal identity or | | | | creating a debt to the offender, turning a |
| value. Treating people worse than animals is | | | | marginal life into a hopeless and useless |
| not conducive to self improvement. | | | | life. Society is restricting a person from |
| Rehabilitation must begin by not caging non | | | | any opportunity to contribute to the society |
| violent offenders. House arrest, victim | | | | he or she offended; allowing no opportunity |
| restitution, fines, counseling and work | | | | to support a family for which they may be |
| habilitation will prove much less expensive | | | | responsible; innocent victims of terrible, |
| to society than caging and produce a better | | | | thoughtless social policy. |
| outcome. | | | | |
| | | | Society has so long applied this cruel |
| Anti social behavior grows out of confusion | | | | punishment that its debt to the criminal |
| and misidentification. That is, anti social | | | | element cannot be paid. Just like the debts |
| people believe they are someone different | | | | owed Native Americans and the descendents of |
| than who they are at their core. They are | | | | African slaves. We can go ahead and live our |
| books judged by their covers; judged by | | | | lives as though no debt existed and we do. |
| people only interested in covers. They come | | | | America will pay in blood, terror and plague |
| to believe and behave as though they are the | | | | - death and destruction. It is a sad thing we |
| covers others have created for them. They are | | | | have so chosen. Divine justice does not allow |
| the products of other people's expectations | | | | for life in cages or a few living well from |
| and imaginations as so many of us are. | | | | the misery of many. |
| Unfortunately, the expectations of many role | | | | |
| models were low and easy to fulfill. Let | | | | The rehabilitation of social offenders will |
| society help the victims of low expectations | | | | not prevent the judgment of a dispassionate, |
| to distinguish between who they are and who | | | | unrepentant people, long past due. It could |
| they have been told they are. This explains | | | | create pockets of mercy within that judgment. |
| their confusion to them and alleviates it. | | | | Perhaps you and I will know a little of that |
| Clearing this confusion makes good candidates | | | | mercy. Perhaps you and I will make some |
| for rehabilitation. | | | | effort to end a social injustice that is |
| | | | worldwide and centuries old. Perhaps you and |
| Rehabilitation begins by helping an offender | | | | I will no longer ignore the problems some are |
| find their true identity. The tools trained | | | | paid to hide from us. Perhaps we actually do |
| counselors now have at their disposal for | | | | know right from wrong. Perhaps knowing the |
| this identification process are readily | | | | difference, we will choose what is right. |
| available: aptitude and IQ tests; personality | | | | Perhaps but no one is betting on it. |
| and character tests; astrological and | | | | |