It is that time of year again. The lull after the holidays where the weather is freezing, the flu runs rampant, and movie awards appear on many a Sunday night. My personal favorite of the year is Argo and if you have not seen that I definitely encourage you to check it out. However this is not the movie that inspires me in this writing. That honor and the film that remained with me long after seeing it belongs to Les Miserables. The opera based on one of my two favorite novels of all time (the other is East of Eden) examines what life was like in 19th century France. Victor Hugo’s story shines the light on many contemporary issues: inequality, revolution, treatment of women and the poor as well as timeless principles such as grace, repentance and forgiveness. The topic that stood out the most to me however was the story of prisoner 24601, Jean Valjean. He was locked up, institutionalized, for stealing a loaf of bread for his sister’s dying child. The novel follows the life of Jean Valjean as his noble soul attempts to escape the blight of being a prisoner.
Johnny Cash sharing the prison blues
Watching the movie one can’t help but think how unfair the justice system was in France to set someone such as Jean Valjean on a path of crime and disgrace for one loaf of bread. Yet this is contemporary USA. In our country, the land of the free, we have 5% of the world’s population but nearly 25% of the world’s prisoners. We have more prisoners by far per capita (and total) than any other country in the entire world including places like China, Russia, Afghanistan and Mexico! We possibly have millions of Les Miserables in our country and we need loving human beings to follow the Christ like bishop who are willing to redeem a soul and lift a spirit even if it were to cost our finest candlesticks.
The reasons we have such a large prison population are legion but I wanted to touch on one of the big ones. There is a growing industry of for profit prisons and it is their interest (as well as that of their shareholders) to increase the amount of individuals behind bars for greater amount of time and far more prison crowding. And as states have budget shortfall these prison corporation are offering cash to take the reigns. This is a multi billion dollar industry that does not primarily aim to be an enforcer of law such as Javert in Les Mis but rather a money grubbing swindler like the master of the house, Monsieur Thenardier. Private prisons spend $45 million in lobbying our law makers that is a significant chunk of change used to increase the bottom line!
United States prisons are a blight on our country and a cancer to our future. Only half our prisoners are in prison due to a violent crime. Minorities, the fastest growing demographics, are imprisoned at far greater rates than their white neighbors. Our economy in desperate need of cuts and revenue yet spends on average of $31,000 per inmate per year! In states like California it is upwards of 50-60K. This is money that could be used to pay an entire teacher’s salary or cover college tuition at a great school and be recirculated into our economy. Instead it is sunk costs and ruined lives. This must change.
There are many good ideas on how this can be done. The two that I believe would have the greatest impact are to shed ourselves of the for profit prison sector which is one more reason to minimize corporate money and influence in Washington. The second is to end the war on drugs. A war which has been waged for decades now and I doubt there is anyone that would claim it has been a success. Our prisons are loaded with non violent pot smokers and pushers who are enrolled in schools of violence 101 when they are booked into the local pokey. We must break the taboo of a drug war that is breaking apart entire communities and fracturing our society.
United States prisons are a blight on our country and a cancer to our future. Only half our prisoners are in prison due to a violent crime. Minorities, the fastest growing demographics, are imprisoned at far greater rates than their white neighbors. Our economy in desperate need of cuts and revenue yet spends on average of $31,000 per inmate per year! In states like California it is upwards of 50-60K. This is money that could be used to pay an entire teacher’s salary or cover college tuition at a great school and be recirculated into our economy. Instead it is sunk costs and ruined lives. This must change.
There are many good ideas on how this can be done. The two that I believe would have the greatest impact are to shed ourselves of the for profit prison sector which is one more reason to minimize corporate money and influence in Washington. The second is to end the war on drugs. A war which has been waged for decades now and I doubt there is anyone that would claim it has been a success. Our prisons are loaded with non violent pot smokers and pushers who are enrolled in schools of violence 101 when they are booked into the local pokey. We must break the taboo of a drug war that is breaking apart entire communities and fracturing our society.
2012 Documentary trailer on the drug war narrated by Morgan Freeman
Regardless of the answer to our prison problem it must be addressed. And as we rise up let us follow the example of the prophet of Galilee in one of his final teachings. “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. It is so easy to ignore Jesus and the least of these in prison and pretend there is no problem but that does not change the facts. Let us reach out to our brothers and sisters, currently just numbers like 24601, and extend our hands of love and voice for justice and find the Jean Valjeans in our midst in need of grace, forgiveness and love.
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