What kind of a society do we want to be and how do we get there?

What kind of a society are we and what kind of a society do we want to be?

These are difficult questions. The first thing we have to do is to break them down so we can understand them. This is elementary, "How to think."

1) What constitutes a 'good'society’?

(Multiple subtitles later.)

2) What kind of a society are we now?

3) Where do we go from here and how do we get there, (although that is actually two questions there.)

For example: Do we want to be a vengeful, punishing society, or a forgiving society?

Is it actually better to put people in prison or to rehabilitate them?

Is it better to spend money putting them into prison or spending the money to rehabilitate then and letting them help pay for the prisons?

Why is it that we have the third highest population in the world and yet we have the highest prison population in the world... even though the two countries with the two highest populations each have about 4 to 1 over us? (India 1.2 billion, and China, 1.4 billion, America 311 million.)

Some of those people in there, (I'm sorry, but it's true,) should never get out!

Many of them will.

Some of those inside who should get out... unfortunately may not.

Part of that is because of you!

Politicians, afraid of you, never want to appear 'soft-on-crime.'

This threatens their political life itself!

Especially when one of those who shouldn't get out does... and commits new atrocities.

However, then we go against the spirit of our founders... we hold this against innocent persons.

Which, by the way, is supposedly against our constitution... you know, innocent until proven guilty? Better a guilty man guilty man go free than an innocent man go to prison.

Etc...

Etc...

Etc...

Except...

That all costs too much!

Better if a man can be rehabilitated and put to work at making society work the way it's supposed to, than to spend a fortune supporting him in luxury all his life.

A) Don't tell me it's NOT luxury. This is prison in America!

B) At approximately $40,000 year, 25 years adds up to a cool million $ per person!

(Some people could nitpick exact current costs, but it's only going up anyway, so that is irrelevant! After all, what's a 1987 dollar worth now?)

So what we have to do is to figure out, "What is the real problem and how do we fix it?"

Here's a couple facts to chew on:

Prisons cost money.

Trials cost money.

People who are not part of society, (have jobs, houses, etc,) do not add money to society. Since they get nothing out of it, and have nothing invested in it, they could care less if it falls. Or could even care more if it falls since it could only improve their situation.

People, who are not in prison, people who do have jobs etc... help to pay those costs!

They pay housing bills, grocery bills, PG&E bills, water bills, school costs, taxes, gas, and even buy cars, and jewelry, and flowers.

Every single person we put in prison instead of rehabilitating, costs us money instead of helping to pay the bills.

And every single person we make a part of society instead of putting in prison helps to pay those bills and to support society and to make it work.

Now, once again I'll state that some of those people in there should stay there!

As for the rest... why are you wasting your money?

More important, why are you still allowing some stupid politician to waste it for you?

Haven’t you had enough of that yet?

Let's make a better society, a better world.