In America, there’s a simmering resentment towards “liberals” and “leftists” within some parts of the country that always astounds me. Despite the complaints, American is, from California to New York, and immensely conservative country. Our most liberal politicians were be center-right in almost any other country.
Case in point, Norwegian Prisons. There is no mainstream politician in American that would ever suggest island prison retreats or a hard cap on prison populations. It is anathema to the entire basis of American “Moral Jurisprudence.” We are still absolutely intent on punishment and that goes a nice way towards are record prison population. Arcane and draconian drug laws aren’t especially helpful either.
There is nothing new about treating prison system as an actual reform mechanism and American has taken it as official policy as well. The trouble is not really some grand moral divide. Rather, Americans are cheap, greedy, and spiteful. As the recent healthcare fun has noted, our country has hardened itself against humanity in a genuinely frightful way. Regardless of where the majority might stand, the loudest voice within American, however small, is firmly against any sort of social morality beyond the Bible and its dangerous interpretations. Whether backed by a sort of inner xenophobia, racism, or some other indistinguishable motivation, our politics have become a battle between ‘somewhat reasonable’ and ‘barking mad anti-socialism’.
It is my firm hope that someday a prison like Norway has might become a topic of genuine political discussion. It wouldn’t be my highest priority to put into practice, but any society that can see and appreciate the benefits of making prisons less barbaric and more humane is much improved on our own.
