The condition of ethics in the US and World

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

07/05/2008 05:16:02 PM · #1

I had meant this as a reply in the Adobe have made my day!!! thread, however I think as it calls on completely different answers as that subject it is best placed here where people can argue it properly...

This is somewhat unrelated but also on topic...

This is not in any intent meant as a reply to anyone or as support for anything I've said.

I am reminded of the movie Witness, maybe some of you have seen it. Which gives a brief look into the Amish lifestyle of old, not the more modern Amish with cellphones.

Anyway, if one member of their society commits a wrong, they are not beaten, or thrown into prison, their things are not taken from them. They are shunned, their family, friends, and neighbors turn their backs to them until they either right what they have done, an amount of time has passed, or for great crimes, until they leave.

Why does this matter? Because the Amish are a tight-nit group of people, they very are social, and may even know everyone by name. It is like a very large family. People have a desire for social bonds and to keep those bonds strong. Knowing one has hurt another is the greatest punishment possible.

I think it is disappointing at the number of laws countries like the US have and the number of people in prison. Currently it is 1% of the total population I believe CNN just said. Every day someone cuts me off driving, flies through a red light, the other day the police had to stop three teens near my neighborhood with AK-47 assault rifles.

People blame all kinds of things, the truth is though, it is because more and more, people don't care a damn about anyone else. Parents have stopped teaching empathy and feeling. School bullying used to be getting pushed down and hit, now it is getting stabbed in the back with a switch blade, in 3rd grade.

I worry, with the number of people in prison growing hourly, what happens when they are full, when no one else can fit in the jails or police stations? Do police start shooting people? Do people riot and kill everyone with no means to defend themselves?

Where exactly do you think we are headed as a nation and as a planet?

pjangel

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

07/05/2008 05:21:45 PM · #2

togtog...
Now this should be a good discussion!! I'm going to see how long I can sit on the sidelines :)

karmat

Apple iPhone 7

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM

07/05/2008 05:33:54 PM · #3

Originally posted by togtog:

Anyway, if one member of their society commits a wrong, they are not beaten, or thrown into prison, their things are not taken from them. They are shunned, their family, friends, and neighbors turn their backs to them until they either right what they have done, an amount of time has passed, or for great crimes, until they leave.

Of interest to me is that when one is shunned it often hurts those still in the church WORSE than the one who was shunned.

Is that what you are getting at? That someone would more likely follow the law if they knew someone they loved would get hurt?

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

07/05/2008 05:37:02 PM · #4

Originally posted by karmat:

Not specifically someone they loved but someone that they cared about.

violinist123

Canon EOS-6D

07/05/2008 07:59:34 PM · #5

We aren't headed anywhere, we're treading water in the same spot we have for eons. If the current state of things seems like an aberration to you, crack a history book.

Panasonic Lumix G 14mm F2.5 ASPH

07/05/2008 08:16:31 PM · #6

Originally posted by violinist123:

We aren't headed anywhere, we're treading water in the same spot we have for eons. If the current state of things seems like an aberration to you, crack a history book.

I flunked history but it didn't help the teacher refused to admit there were 50 states, not 52 as a typo in her teachers book claimed...

Anyway I will form this as a question then. Currently, in the US, jails house 2-3 times the number of inmates as there are beds. Cots have been placed into the halls, bathrooms, cafeterias to try to meet the demand but cannot keep up. Prisoners sleep in shifts and eat standing up. This has happened in history? What was the outcome?

As for not heading somewhere. The percentage of people in prison is increasing, not number, but percentage, meaning a larger and larger section of the US is being arrested, this means we are headed somewhere even if it is 100% of people being in prison, that is heading somewhere. The only way we would not be headed somewhere would be if every day was exactly the same as yesterday and the day before.

It is true, there has always been crime, always been jail, this has not changed, but the percentage has, and that is what I am worried about.

Figuring all states have the same population, which I know they don't but but sake of argument that is like two entire states being in jail and it is spreading outwards to other states.

Olyuzi

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7

07/05/2008 09:58:40 PM · #7

Originally posted by togtog:

I worry, with the number of people in prison growing hourly, what happens when they are full, when no one else can fit in the jails or police stations? Do police start shooting people? Do people riot and kill everyone with no means to defend themselves?

Where exactly do you think we are headed as a nation and as a planet?

The prison system in the US is becoming privatized and is a burgeoning industry. A lot of money is going towards building new prisons. There'll be plenty of room for everybody! At least for dissenters of authority, corporations, and globalists.

RayEthier

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM

07/06/2008 12:08:51 AM · #8

Originally posted by togtog:

It is true, there has always been crime, always been jail, this has not changed, but the percentage has, and that is what I am worried about.

Viewed from a different perspective, perhaps you should be happy that the percentage is increasing. It wasn't all that long ago that people were put to death for a variety of crimes... which is not the case today.

Ray