I Wonder What the World is Coming To



I know this has nothing at all to do with writing, other than perhaps using it as fodder for a novel, but I have been thinking about this since I read this article yesterday.  I thought I would share this with you, although I usually try to stay away from the subjects of politics, religion, and the daily news going on in our country.

It seems that so many of the states are going broke and looking for a way to cut expenses, not being smart enough to start at the top with all the wasteful spending done by the departments set up to manage state affairs.

I was appalled to read that Lane County in Oregon has decided it cost too much to house the prisoners, so have set 100 convicted murderers, thieves and rapists loose on the streets.  Now doesn’t this just show how much common sense they have.  Why bother to pay police officials, the court system, etc, to even arrest and process these prisoners in the first place, if this is the result?  I guess it must be to keep these officials employed.  After all these felons commit more crimes against society, these authorities will be called in again to arrest and send these people back through the judicial system at the taxpayer’s expense.

This also happened in Josephine County in Oregon the end of May when 39 convicted prisoners walked free because of budget woes.  Would you want to live here when you don’t know who could be lurking about?  How safe are your kids and grandkids playing in the yard, or going to school?

Today’s prisoners are treated very well and in some regards have it better than the people who are trying to make an honest living, keep a roof over their heads and food on the table.  With the lack of jobs in this economy, of course these released people will commit more crimes in order to survive.  There are no jobs waiting for them.  What do the officials think will happen?  Law abiding, honest people can’t even find work these days.

What is wrong with throwing people in the dungeons as they used to do years ago?  Why do prisoners deserve all these amenities: three meals a day, a recreation yard, TV and other services?  What kind of discipline is that?  Now turning them lose will certainly not deter others from taking up a life of crime when there is no punishment at all for your deeds.

Do I see the return of vigilante justice coming?  I’m not so sure the old shoot-out is the way to take care of things, but we may soon find ourselves back in the days of the Wild West.  It matters not to me if citizens find the need to own guns as long as it is for the protection of themselves and their families, and they know how to use them.  We all still have our freedoms – for now – and with that, we have the right to protect ourselves.  However, that begs the question, what do we need the police and other officials for?  I thought we paid them to look after us and to come when we are in need of their services.  They trained in such matters where the average citizen did not.

This current direction of the United States makes me wonder.  This is probably just the tip of the iceberg.  If we see more states following this path, we’ll soon have more criminals in the streets than honest citizens.

We would all do well to prepare ourselves in case this is an eventuality.  We should be prepared and not totally without any defenses.  After all, we want to provide for and to protect our families.  Although I have a neutral stance on owning firearms, it may be worth some more thought because criminals will always have guns, or the means to get them, and they know how to use them.  No one wants to be a sitting duck.

To read this article click here:

Lane County, Oregon, Releasing Nearly 100 Inmates, Some Killers, Amxd Budget Woes

Where do you stand on this?  Could this happen where you live?  If it did, how would you feel about it?

Note – I don’t live in Oregon, but my husband’s family does.