How do we say that we are living safe lives? Is it with the presence of strong police forces that will curb the crimes? Is it the absence of thieves and thugs that can potentially bring us harm? Is it the presence of close relationships that will forever assure us off all the insecurities we have? Threats can be everywhere: in a marriage where the husband cheats, at work where people talk behind your back, in church where the priest misuses the funds or in a friendship where one stabs the others back.
We discriminate much on criminals thinking that they are way below us. We tag them as people with no morals and we think they do not deserve respect from us. We frown at the idea that human rights be extended to them because we see that they are the very persons that corrode it. We look at jails and what do we see? We see a picture that does not only include those behind bars but us as a society.
Netherlands closed their jails because very few crimes are committed that will require imprisonment. Why then is it difficult to replicate that? Maybe the way of life is a big factor. How can we expect bigger crimes not to be committed when at the course of everyday life we commit those petty crimes? Lying, deceit, pilferage, cheating, half-truths and the long line that keep the demon of crimes sated. It is my personal belief that before we start conquering the larger boulders, we start off by clearing away these pebbles that aggregate and form these bigger challenges.
We fear what we have sown-for the thieves and thugs that we fear, are those that we have tolerated. Those thugs have started with smaller crimes that are deemed acceptable. Soon they will escalate it to bigger crimes where there will be no turning back. We have allowed the weeds to take roots and bear fruits before regretting our inaction. We all have feed the weeds. They are like hounds that were groomed to go bad. We have fed them with flesh and they come back for more carcass.
I appreciate people who take time to visit the jails and listen to the pleas of those behind bars. I appreciate those who believe that something good can come from them. Never too late for change if there are willing souls to believe and help them rise again. Who are we to judge? Are they the people we should fear the most? We only managed to put the hounds behind bars- the wolves are out here walking among us.
