When people compare the United States to just about any other country with a low incarceration rate it is usually far from a realistic comparison. While many first world countries have lower rates of incarceration, they also are much smaller and do not have the melting pot of cultures and values that we have in the U.S., cultures that have added beauty and depth to the fabric of our nation, but cultures whose differences can be expanded into battle lines of offense and defense.
But we can’t just blame crime on identity politics or cultural differences. The demise of the nuclear family has caused a huge increase in the number of those in prison. Surveys of incarcerated juveniles report that 75 percent of them did not have a father in the home. High percentages of them report physical and mental abuse as children, or lack of available food and appropriate clothing. Sexual abuse reports are common.
Meanwhile, the percentage of Black marriages has plummeted to about 30 percent and whites have dropped to 58 percent, far down from the 1950’s 70 percent range for both.* This huge drop was ignited by the initial government funding to needy mothers which required that no adult male could live in the home. Unquestionably, it was a watershed moment in the history of U.S. family dynamics, as these rules tore apart the family structure among those who needed support. Kids need dads, but too many do not have a father that mentors them, loves them, and provides a map for work and responsibility.
Then there’s the drop in church attendance (which is measured by numerous studies). But (funny) I could find NO studies on the criminal tendency of those raised in a religious home. Clearly, our woke colleges and “think tanks” prefer not to study the benefits of organized religion and its impact on crime statistics. What I did find, was the Harvard Divinity Bulletin’s story: “Does Religion Cause Violence?” The first sentence of which says, “Everyone knows that religion has a dangerous tendency to promote violence.” Ya, no bias there.
Ok. Here’s the kicker: Studies indicate as many as 64 percent** of the inmates in our prisons suffer from mental issues. For those who don’t remember, decades ago, after a failure of care in many of our mental institutions, most facilities were closed and most of the patients were released. In our new Marion County Adult Detention Center, for example, 40 percent of the housing is allocated to those who are mentally ill. They are assessed, medicated, and after serving their sentences they are released, with every potential of returning.
We do have a high rate of incarceration, but it is because ‘up to 64 percent’ of the inmates belong in a hospital, not a penal institution. It is because too many of our young men commit crimes fomented by a violent childhood, often without a father, and it is because there is a perverse and constant media environment that works every day to divide us with hate, instead of unifying us with love.
Nancy
*Black Demographics com
**The Prevalence of Mental Illnesses in U.S. State Prisons
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