Politics and Dharma

I have been philosophically opposed to prisons for several years. Although I have made a few blog posts on the idea and have tossed it between a few friends, I haven’t really done anything about this opposition.

A few weeks ago, pointed out a blog that highlights criminal justice in Texas: Grits for Breakfast is a punch in gut every morning. Whatever ambiguous feelings I may have had have been replaced by a sickening rush of nausea to discover that things are not only worse than I had expected, they’re worse than I could have imagined.

The entire sick exercise — from the preening politicians to the soulless administrative lackies — is a cruel morality tale that may hopefully redirect some future culture from the calamity our state endures. I suspect that we’ll continue down our dark path until the state goes bankrupt under the weight of tying up so much of its human resource in jails rather than in jobs.

There was a time when I had some hope of encouraging a general movement towards more humane solutions. After a few weeks of Grits, I no longer harbor such naive hope. At least we have a better chance of getting universal health care when we’re all in prison.