Have we come to a point in our history where American arrogance is no longer supported by American excellence? Nowhere is this more obvious than our citizen’s growing distrust in our justice and carceral systems. An overt sense that these systems are not legitimate exists, and in too many ways the growing body of evidence proves as much. In our Constitutional Republic—not a “democracy”—advanced citizenship is required. Hands-on involvement is demanded because you have to want it to work. You have to engage with it as a labor of love. Since the end of WWII, that has been decidedly not the case. Instead, a complacent citizenry has increasingly allowed greed and avarice to squizle their way in; corruption, like a silent cancer has taken root, and I suggest that it has metastasized. I am of the opinion that only a single course is left for the citizens of America, best articulated in paragraph two of our Declaration of Independence, “That whenever any form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it.” Alteration has clearly not worked There are debates to be had about these things I’ve just stated. Debates are wonderful for stalling action. So, to my statements, I offer the following personal experiences, which are an example, not the exception, elucidating serious problems, and even more serious failures.

It is quite often said, “prison isn’t supposed to be comfortable.” That statement, strictly a supposition rather than fact, speaks volumes. It also poses an important question: Why isn’t it supposed to be comfortable? If its entire purpose is about “corrections,” then nurturing comfort should be preferred. The “stick,” negative reinforcement is well documented as a failed means of permanent behavioral modification. Society has recognized its diminishing returns over time and the fact that it breeds adverse behavioral responses. Why then is our entire prison system based on punishment? For that matter, our judicial system seems the same, specifically its handling of “criminality,” but also civil matters.

Contrarily, we know that learning is best done in an engaging, nurturing environment. Certainly, it is long past time that we should adopt to what we know works, as a society. The monied interests are one of many obstacles to change. They fight it, and stall it, until they find a way to secure profits from anything new. Our system, which is deeply integrated with crony capitalism (that Keynesian capitalism at its worst, the antithesis of Adams Smith’s model) operates in such a way to better maintain a harmful failing system until the last penny is extracted, rather than spending monies to fix a problem or install a new system.