OPINION:
Our daily bread in America is the daily mayhem report. Out-of-control crime like the University of Virginia shootings rises as surely as the sun does (“Suspect in UVA campus shooting arrested; 3 dead, 2 wounded,” Web, Nov. 14).
This country has basically given up on preventing and correcting misbehavior. We don’t do it in our homes, our streets, our boardrooms, our police forces, our schools or our statehouses.
Crime exploded after World War II, but get-tough measures failed so badly we gave up on crime. We started downgrading felonies to misdemeanors, then decided to stop prosecuting misdemeanors altogether. California now sees smash-and-grabs invited by public policy that refuses to prosecute commercial robberies under $1,000.
We have implemented release-without-bail policies for repeat offenders, essentially giving criminals get-out-of-jail-free cards.
Our unenlightened justice system mocks our Founders’ “speedy justice” mandate and effective program of hard labor to prevent and rehabilitate crime. We have three justice strategies today: “It’s all good,” “Let it be” and “All we need is love.”
It was housewives who started the Mothers Against Drunk Driving campaign and singlehandedly cleaned up the DUI mess in America. Maybe “We the People” need to get “woke” about crime and do something.
KIMBALL SHINKOSKEY
Woods Cross, Utah
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