i can see being pro-life and pro-capital punishment; those unborn babies haven't committed any crimes yet; they're still innocent. they should be allowed to live. sex offenders and other shitty people out there, on the other hand...
and also, do you remember the 4th of july two years ago (i think) when you were sitting in your back yard with my dad and joe and maybe paul, and i walked outside and said, "so, what do you think about the death penatly?" and then walked back inside?
I DO remember, but I think you said abortion, not the death penalty. You were a shit-stirrer then and you're getting better - must be learning from dad!
I think capital punishment is wrong...it seems like a cop out to me. The fact that our prison system doesn't work is no justification for killing people. It doesn't rehabilitate people, so obviously we need to change what we're doing there. We all know the threat of capital punishment isn't an effective deterrent anyway.
Also, it seems to me that the people committing those horrible crimes are most in need of our compassion, however distasteful that thought maybe be. They had shitty pasts and in some cases were sexually abused themselves. Why does this stuff happen? We need to work on preventing the conditions that set these cycles up, not kill somebody. What kind of solution is that? I'm not excusing the crime they commited at all...I'm just saying that if we come at this problem with respect for the whole person I think we'd be able to do a lot more good, not just for the criminal or the victim's family, but for our society as a whole.
I truly believe that there are 'bad' people out there that will never be made into '
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Civilized society or Barbarism?ceciliamarie23October 10 2006, 22:20:28 UTC
If indivuals who had actually committed those crimes were counted, the numbers in terms of cost would be inconsequential. Drug laws, which effectively criminalize the poor and ethnic minorities, have the prisons brimming. Simply institute a sane approach to substance abuse and the prision industrual complex would reduce in size dramatically, if cost is your concern
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Re: Civilized society or Barbarism?woolybearOctober 11 2006, 15:58:59 UTC
Jesus was a law-abiding Jew who never said it was okay to break the law. But he also gave the Sermon on the Mount, with its "blessed are the peacemakers," "love your enemies," and which answers "eye for an eye" with "turn the other cheek," and which talks about withholding judgment of anyone. Capital crimes back then were part of the culture, and Jesus never directly said anything about it being bad or good, it was the law and he respected the law. His teachings are generally boiled down to compassion, though, and if you want to take the Christian line of argument then you have to look at what it means to be compassionate, and go from there.
Re: Civilized society or Barbarism?szy8xjOctober 11 2006, 16:28:37 UTC
Emotionally, my compassion goes right out the window when crimes are committed against kids. Rationally, my compassion equates to an 8X10 cell, two meals a day and a BIG pile of big rocks that need to be made into pea-gravel. I don't think that JC would disagree (too much).
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You were a shit-stirrer then and you're getting better - must be learning from dad!
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Also, it seems to me that the people committing those horrible crimes are most in need of our compassion, however distasteful that thought maybe be. They had shitty pasts and in some cases were sexually abused themselves. Why does this stuff happen? We need to work on preventing the conditions that set these cycles up, not kill somebody. What kind of solution is that? I'm not excusing the crime they commited at all...I'm just saying that if we come at this problem with respect for the whole person I think we'd be able to do a lot more good, not just for the criminal or the victim's family, but for our society as a whole.
I truly believe that there are 'bad' people out there that will never be made into ' ( ... )
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