Look at this thug, he MUST be a criminal!
Last winter I went out for a Sunday afternoon walk and I activated my Neighborhood Watch system. As I walked down the street, phones were ringing from house to house until the lady at the end of the street said, "STOP, I KNOW HIM!" Why did they think I was a criminal? Because of the green knitted cap I was wearing — it was a Christmas gift from a coworker, and apparently it makes me look really EVIL!!!
I was spared the county jail that afternoon, but many of my fellow Americans aren't so lucky. See, the U.S. puts more of their citizens behind bars than any other nation in the world.
The United States has the highest prison population rate in the world, some 686 per 100,000 of the national population, followed by the Cayman Islands (664), Russia (638), Belarus (554), Kazakhstan (522), Turkmenistan (489), Belize (459), Bahamas (447), Suriname (437) and Dominica (420).
What country has the lowest prison population per capita? Why, it's the Faeroe Islands, a Danish possession northwest of Scotland and east of Iceland. According to the data, they had 9 people in prison at about the same time the U.S. had nearly 2 million people behind bars. What does this mean? Do we have tougher judges? Do we have more bad people? One answer is that we have LOTS of nonviolent drug offenders behind bars, and many of these are minorities.
Why do we have so many drug offenders in this nation? Are the laws too harsh, or do we have more people getting stoned? The Yellow Canary believes that both the high incarceration rate and high percentage of drug offenders are the side-effects of our sick and dysfunctional society.
We have millions of people who are disenfranchised and angry at a system that benefits the few at the expense of many. The subtle racism, slanted laws, and the stresses of our unsustainable society all have their effect.
I know a gentleman in New York City who is a respected civic leader in his community. One day at a Kiwanis meeting he was complaining about the crime, and a fellow member pulled him aside and said, "What are you going to do about it?" Well, he did do something about it. For many years he has worked with the New York Athletic Club as a wrestling coach. He is providing positive activities, building self esteem, and working with young men who may have otherwise turned to crime.
The typical answer to crime is to buy guns and put burglar bars around your house, and perhaps add a security fence. Politicians will scream about the "three strike" rule or hiring more police. And while these sound nice, they are only addressing the symptoms to a far greater problem.
The solution to crime begins with volunteering as a Big Brother or Big Sister, working with youth at your church, coaching a sports team, or working at a community center. My favorite program is the Sierra Club's Inner City Outings, which takes children from the inner city out on camp outs and hikes. The attention they receive from adults, the discovery that they are part of a big natural world, and the joy of accomplishing tasks like setting up a tent all have a positive impact. If you don't have time for a youth organization, at least donate money or volunteer with their fund-raising efforts.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, invest in your own children, or if you don't have kids invest in your nieces and nephews. The Canary believes this is the single, most effective way to fight crime. Here are a few tips:
• Love your children unconditionally.
• Be responsible. If you brought kids in the world, NEVER cop out on them or then you become the criminal.
• Spend tons of time with your kids, even if they drive you crazy. Don't neglect your kids by spending all your time trying to make more money to buy more "stuff." Some criminal will probably steal it all anyway.
• Try not to divorce, and if you do, don't make that an excuse for being a lesser parent. According to two different sources, 52 percent of all marriages end in divorce.
• Stay sober. A child is entitled to an adult that is not drunk or high all the time.
Now, this is certainly not a foolproof program, but it's a good start. And I'm not saying my children are perfect because they are not — and neither am I. But at least I am trying.
I have worked with youth both at churches and at my last job, and I cannot overstate the impact that divorce has on a kid. It is traumatizing, so please don't put them through it. Such devastating experiences can have a lifelong impact, which can start the downward spiral that leads to crime.
Right now our U.S. society is ailing badly and the first step to health is restoring the family. There are many reasons why the family — the core unit of our society — is so endangered. Some folks say it's the Devil and a sign of the Last Days. Or they say the family is broken because of Hollywood and worldly influences. But I say — once again —it's because people FAIL TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for their marriages, their lives, and their children!
"While it may be alarming to discover that born again Christians are more likely than others to experience a divorce, that pattern has been in place for quite some time. Even more disturbing, perhaps, is that when those individuals experience a divorce many of them feel their community of faith provides rejection rather than support and healing. But the research also raises questions regarding the effectiveness of how churches minister to families. The ultimate responsibility for a marriage belongs to the husband and wife, but the high incidence of divorce within the Christian community challenges the idea that churches provide truly practical and life-changing support for marriages." — George Barna, Barna Research Group
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