Friday, February 29, 2008

"Lock Them Up And Throw Away The Key"

Did you know that more than one percent of U.S. adults are in prison? We're the highest in the world. What's wrong with us?

I think it's conceivable that a lot of it us our culture. American culture places a lot of emphasis on defying authority and doing what you believe in. It's popular to be distrustful of the government and to view police officers as bad guys. I'm not saying that this is "wrong" but some people simply take this idea too far and don't recognize the harm they do to society when they defy authority for their own purposes.

Police officers in general are not bad guys. There are those who overstep their bounds or don't obey the letter of the law either, but for the most part they are there to keep things peaceful. Thinking all police officers are bad is like thinking all people are bad because some people are criminals.

Laws are not there to deny people freedom. They are there to protect one person's freedom from encroaching on another person's freedom. If it were legal to steal, then nobody would be able to keep their own possessions. If it were legal to kill, then nobody would be able to stay alive. It's pretty simple, really.

Grow up, people.

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