I found this particular topic to
be very interesting and dear to my heart. I feel this way because of a quote
that I once read from Thomas Moore’s book “Utopia,” it states:
“For if you suffer your people to
be ill-educated, and their manners to be corrupted from their infancy, and then
punish them for those crimes to which their first education disposed them, what
else is to be concluded from this, but that you first make thieves and then
punish them.”
― Thomas More, Utopia
― Thomas More, Utopia
I think this exact philosophy can be applied to what is
happening to ex-convicts and in our society today. As it stands “nationwide, as many as 60 percent
of ex-prisoners are unemployed one year after their release from prison” (PrisonFellowship, 2017). Unfortunately, many ex-convicts lack the basic
skills to obtain a or even search for a job, “70 percent of prison inmates function at the low end
of the literacy range — making it tough to understand a classified ad, fill out
a job application, or write a business letter. With so many challenges stacked
against them, re-arrests are common within the first six months of release” (PrisonFellowship,2017). I think it is
very sad that with all the resources that could be made available to these
individuals the proof is in the numbers and not enough is being done. Education
should be provided and basic skills should be taught six months to a year
before release. If you treat them like they are animals they will act like
animals. If you treat them like human beings they will not only learn to
respect the system they with gain a stronger sense of self-worth and ultimately
want to do and be better.
Veterans should be afforded the
same respect, merely for their service to our country and their sacrifice. They
are often left to their own devices and many have experience trauma that
hinders their ability to reintegrate into the society they protected. It is our
duty at that point to care for them. It is our duty to ensure that they receive
proper therapy and necessary training to get a job and support themselves.
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