Three legal topics that I'm somewhat concerned with at the moment are 1) the state of juvenile justice nationwide, 2) drug use prosecution, and 3) the use of torture (waterboarding) by the US government.
1. Juvenile Justice - I'm now serving on a gov't. committee devoted to improving my state's juvie system, and I've become aware of just how messed up "problem kids" have it nationwide. Instead of a preventive system, most states rely on reactionary penal plans that do nothing to uproot the problem and in many ways only perpetuate it. The cycle: Kids commit a minor offense, are arrested, sent to a program for rehabilitation, get a criminal record, have documented baggage for the rest of their life, can't get a decent job, turn to crime - all because they stole a piece of gum at age 14. I wish I could change this/am working to change this. *I know my "cycle" is a gross generalization. I certainly COULD have gone into more specifics, but SEE DISCLAIMER.*
2. Drug User prosecution - I forget what movie it was, but I saw a film a few years back that opened my eyes to just how deep the drug game really runs. Prior to that movie, I'd always demonized and judged the local drug dealers and users as the chief enemy of urban/underprivileged/minority communities. Then I learned about the SUBURBAN drug suppliers and international cartels and began despising US law officials. Why prosecute small-time drug users/sellers so aggressively when they are very much the pawns of a much larger system? We're essentially punishing the "victims" of the drug world and making very little progress where it counts - the top...among the wealthy decision makers. At the local level, people are buying and selling drugs just to cope and survive.
3. Let's be honest. In the game of global politics and intelligence, dangerous times call for unconventional & sometimes undiplomatic actions to maintain power and security. On a philosophical level, waterboarding or any other form of torture is clearly wrong; however, who can deny its utility in certain situations? I'm not pro-torture, but I'm also not naive and radical enough to overlook the unfortunate value of torture in obtaining information. I would speculate that in the past, torture has saved American lives time and time again. We are just unaware of these instances, and our ignorance allows us to stand firmly on the wavering moral foundation of anti-torture arguments. Ignorance is bliss. One day, the current administration may have to practice what they preach and make the difficult decision to resort to torture once again. Only time will tell.
In my mind, every rule should have conditions, and just as the death penalty is employed case by case, so should torture ... just being realistic (wow, that's an ugly thing to say). I guess an alternative to waterboarding is telling the hostage we'll bomb the enemy holdings (his country/family) until he talks... There's no good answer.
Be well,
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There's definitely a lot wrong with the drug user prosections... especially the gross disparities between the expected penalties for well-off suburban users versus poor inner-city users. I think it's time to get behind the push to legalize, now that the issue has gone mainstream and it's considered alright to say that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol.
ReplyDeleteIn response to your point 3, once we accept that morality is assessed relative to how convenient it is for us, we can't be appalled by anything anymore.
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