Radio Netherlands Worldwide

I was listening to your story about prison life and thought I'd comment: I've worked as a chaplain in corrections for a number of years. Science is finding that most crime is committed not out of thought and planning, but out of feeling. Thus, it is little good to create a system where the emphasis for good behaviour depends entirely upon the thinking mind, instead it should embrace the feeling mind and understand that relationship. People who feel good in and about society are much less likely to engage in crime. Instead of realizing this, the law uses threat to demand good behavior. In my opinion, revenge is futile. Punishment is the revenge of society upon individuals. It is unfortunate that the wealth of a whole society can be turned upon such a task toward a single individual, no matter what their actions. It is thoughtless and mindless. Instead, if the individual who has demonstrated by their actions that they are unable to relate successfully in society is temporarily incarcerated, and in the time away from society they are given the opportunity and encouragement to educate themselves and learn new skills, counseling and care to learn anger management and addiction reduction, and to develop a new relationship with society. That is one step. The next step is social reintegration. For that, we need right-thinking citizens who understand that as long as a person is alive, they need a sense of relationship and a sense of community that works both for themselves and for the community. These citizens need to support and welcome the prisoner gradually back into the community in steps that are comfortable both for the formerly incarcerated individual and for the community itself. The community must also demonstrate it cares. Not that it hates and is revengeful, but that the community cares for its people, all of its people, including the damaged. Christ said: "Give me your lame, your sick" your damaged ones. It is meant that Society also step up to the wrongs in conscientious ways to effect a reunion of the individual and society.