Our prisons are increasing in population.  Our schools are still failing to help the "at-risk" learners.  Our communities are shocked with bazaar behavior originating from off-track citizens who never got help when they needed it.  Our streets are full of the mentally ill patients who aren't being cared for.  Government programs that helped at-risk citizens are disappearing or reducing.  Things are really getting worse in our communities and we have come up with no successful problem solving plans.  Nothing until now...The Ol' Sage has a solution that I think would work.  What say?


The wrong folks are in jail!

His eyes "lit up" as he neared the front porch. He could hardly wait to tell me the news. The solution had arrived. He had the answer. As he neared the front porch, he shouted out his command..."We've got to talk!". I stopped my Spring cleanup project. I got a couple drinks and joined him on the front porch where his solutions unraveled before my very eyes. He began by explaining that our government was on the "wrong track". We are not going after the right folks. Our prisons are full of the "symptoms"...not the "causes". The Ol' Sage suggested, if our government was going to continue serving it's citizens with "controls" and "punishments", we needed to get the right folks in those jails. And who are those folks? Well, here's his list:

1. Parents who don't love their children or who become so preoccupied with their own personal needs, they fail to spend time with their children.

2. Government leaders who loose sight of the folks they serve. They deliberately isolate themselves from co-workers and "the public".

3. Business folks who seek excessive profit . They see no responsibility to those who are the source of their income.

4. Those who support "wrong doers"...benefiting from their efforts. These are the "side-kicks" who benefit from the greed of their leaders.

5. The folks who hold public service jobs (such as teachers, police officers and politicians) who know in their heart they no longer seek to serve others....but they don't leave.

6. Neighbors who ignore their neighbors....even when they hear their neighbors' cry for help. 

     If we really want to solve these Heartland problems with punishment, we need to address the true causes and roots. It's the sources of the problem we need to address. The Ol' Sage stopped for a moment. I could see the water welling up in his eyes. I could sense the pain and suffering he had seen Heartlanders experiencing...and could not alter. His voice was quivering as he spoke..."It's our nation. It's our youth. It's our hurting folks we must help. When we use punishment as a deterrent alone, it will not succeed in altering the tragic life styles of so many of our citizens. "

    "But, if we really want to be effective in solving our social problems, we must look beyond punishment and risk our own involvement. I believe the ultimate social change will come from folks helping folks; from people believing that others can change; from engaging in a "miracle network" of assistance; from God's children helping those who walk a damaging course of life."




"It is only through our personal involvement that we can see actual causes and solutions that really might work. It is only though personal involvement that we can identify problems that do require government assistance.  It's only by our own personal commitment, at work and at home, inwhich we will ever see this great nation restored.  Our social problems will rarely be solved by shocking headlines, angry accusations or bloody photos."

 I handed the Sage a Coke. He took a sip, paused for a moment to compose himself and, then, continued. "We have developed walls of protection from our responsibilities. Even the Christians have protected themselves with their exaggerated, convenient biblical quotes about the devil and worldly dangers. Get real! ....Jesus didn't sit at home or deal with only family and friends. He risked his own security and his own life to help others. We need more real Christians! 

     "It's time we change. Our current course can only lead to our own downfall. A doom and gloom message?", The Sage continued... "Yes! A call for change? Yes! Poverty is growing because folks have just given up. Schools are failing for many of our damaged children (25 percent of the students entering the 9th grade do not graduate)...those are the children for which we offer little healing. Prisons are holding too many of our neighbors." 


"If we insist on punishment as a source of citizen control, then lets put the right folks in jail.  Or, if we want change that works, we'll have to begin listening to those who have "walked the walk"...and, those knowledgeable folks aren't the suited leaders or the politicians who seek government as a professional golden goose.  It's time for a change!"

 

With that, the Sage stood up and took a small American flag out of his pocket. He left it for me to put on this page.... Hope you like it. The flag is yours. Wear it as a reminder of your commitment to building a better nation. Wear it and live it's commitment....











     
     A commitment that demands our personal involvement to heal the childhood suffering and adult brokeness existing in our nation. 
 
     A commitment that requires that we personally understand the suffering of others and that we seek ways to restore the individual and repair the community that produced the damage. 
 

Our America...

Lets go home...