The "Take A Sad Song And Make It Better" Challenge: Crime/Punishment and "What do we do now?"

Quick intro:

It's been a big Facebook morning:

Now, I invite you all to join in on a tremendously important topic:

Crime and punishment.

Let's figure all figure out some ideas to make our society better. Let's start with us and then move on to "The System". THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN! So let's figure out how to best keep people OUT OF THE SYSTEM.

I would particularly love to hear from my friends in the law enforcement and legal communities because of your unique vantage points.

This is my Facebook Post:

Here are several ideas to help fight crime (and general societal decay as well): Men be honorable (Women and others: act similarly as it applies to you.) Don't impregnate and move on! Marry THEN impregnate. THEN stay around and be a good parent forever. Not perfect but good. Teach values like hard work and respect for everyone. Everyone means everyone. Male, female, other. Black, white, other. Gay, straight, other. Atheist, agnostic, other. Muslim, Christian, other. Democrat, Republican, other. Respect does NOT have to mean agreement or endorsement nor could it possibly do so. Think of respect as a willingness to accept another's value and treat a person accordingly regardless of agreement with views, opinions, beliefs, lifestyle etc. Judge actions sympathetically but honestly. Be honest but again RESPECTFULLY... Be accountable. Hold yourself to a high standard NOT the lowest common denominator regardless of what anyone else does. Don't look down on others when they do not do so. Lead by example. Be forgiving, knowing that at times you will fail to live up to your own standard.


I know many of you do not consider the Bible as a credible source. But I hope we could all agree to these principles and the Bible is where I happened to glean them from.

I have things to learn from others:
Proverbs 27:17 NIV
As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

I must consider my actions:
Luke 6:31 NIV
Do to others as you would have them do to you.

It's not all about me:
Philippians 2:3 NIV
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

I am not the authority on everything:
Proverbs 26:12 NIV
Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

All that said, please forgive me when I fail to live up to this and PLEASE feel free to hold me accountable, respectfully.

The Muse...

(My response to a post I read)


I don't mean to be "harsh" but rape, arson and murder in the aftermath of a botched burglary? Some people need justice. Occasionally, justice happens. I really can't stand the "bad environment" defense. I've always thought it's such a slap in the face to everyone who grew up under horrible circumstances and didn't turn into a psychopath or sociopath. I am not entirely unsympathetic but could we please start celebrating the ones that rise above and DON'T become thugs. This IS the right call. Ok, I'm stopping now...
Thug Who Raped Iraq War Vet's Wife, Executed Them Both Learns His Brutal Fate
This is the right call.
CONSERVATIVETRIBUNE.COM


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Julie Hinojosa, Joseph R Ellison, Steve Andrusko and 23 others like this.

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  Scott Oliver Here's the thing. Pure evil has no remorse, no guilt, no care. There is no justice good enough for someone like this. The damage is done and no justice will undo it. All I can say is....Jesus come quickly.
  5 hrs · Unlike · 2
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  Patrick Weill I agree Scott. But that's what hell is for. I believe in eternal life in both realms. Even if we were to slow torture a bad person for the rest of his or her life it would not be as bad as hell eternal.
  4 hrs · Unlike · 2
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  Aaron Gayden As important as the eternal question is there is still the question of what do we as a society do about it. There is no justice good enough but there is such a thing as not enough justice so to speak. Again I don't want to be harsh but these criminals ...See More
  
  
  DPIC | Death Penalty Information Center
  The U.S. military has its own laws and court system separate from those of the states and the federal...
  DEATHPENALTYINFO.ORG
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  Scott Oliver As a side note and a left turn.....I'm now listening to Toto "Hydra" as a result of your last post.
  1 hr · Edited · Like
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  Janelle Caywood As a criminal defense attorney for 20 years I can tell you the criminal justice system is inherently biased against people of color. Yes, there are dangerous people that should be incarcerated. However, sentences and penalties are much more stiff for those who kill or hurt white people than those who harm black people. You should follow the Innocence Project's pages of FB and discover how many people are wrongly convicted and condemned to die, most of whom are poor black peopple. Those who are truly interested in how egregiously unfair the criminal justice system toward people of color, should listen to this talk about race in the criminal justice system by Bryan Stevenson, a Christian and the most Christlike person on the planet. He talks about how the issue is not whether these people deserve to die but whether we, as a society deserve to kill. http://www.ted.com/.../bryan_stevenson_we_need_to_talk...Cheers, Janelle
  
  We need to talk about an injustice

  In an engaging and personal talk -- with cameo appearances from his grandmother and Rosa Parks --...

  TED.COM|BY BRYAN STEVENSON

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  Aaron Gayden Good word, Janelle! And as a person of color I have made it incumbent on myself to not put myself in that position. It should not be a black white issue (though I know that is impossible to get around.) Particularly, if you know you will pay a higher price for criminality you should may more of a point to not be a criminal. I truly believe a large part of the underlying problem is people trying to get away with murder literally and figuratively. Again, let's laud black people and anyone else who is underprivileged and decides to be a law abiding citizen. I by no means intend to discount your years of experience in the legal system. Criminal behavior should absolutely be punished equally. But I do want to address the underlying problem. The black community, in a broad sense, desperately needs to embrace and uphold better values. Embracing thug life, raising children especially boys with no fathers, not assuming responsibility for one's actions, blaming anyone else (even when there is truth to it) will not get the job done. Saying that being educated is "trying to be white" will not get the job done. I'm listening to the Ted talk as we speak. I knew gang bangers growing up. One of my best friends as a child was killed because he was involved in gangs. Because he didn't follow a better path, make better choices he is no longer here. I had a neighbor who was shot and killed in the street between our houses. Because he had gotten into a gang and then left. I had neighbors who were in and out of jail. Because of their behavior. The issue does not have simple answers. There is more to the fact that 1/3 of black men have been incarcerated than racism. Much of that is because they have embraced poor decisions, wrong, criminal decisions. I agree that we are more than just our wrong decisions and actions. I have lived what I will call often a lower middle class life on the edge. But at no point have I believed that crime was a lifestyle option (except behind the wheel, but that is on me). There are multiple problems. There are issues in the system and there are issues in the community. We must deal with both. But I fear that if we exonerate and excuse behavior that we know is criminal we are doing equal harm to the individual and to society itself. I agree with virtually all of this Ted Talk. But dignity without accountability is very shallow and in fact dangerous. Both justice and mercy are needed. These are extremely tough issues. I would love to hear ideas on how to address the issue of goodness or good behavior in addition to, not by any means, in lieu of ideas on how to fix the system. Just fixing the system is just as impersonal as just people in the system for the crimes.
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  It will take us all to take this sad song and make it better so let's start!

Right this very minute...

For the record, I do know that Christmas is so not something you can buy in a store. But, I just happened to walk into a store and see all the Christmasy things and I got my first Christmas feeling. I know the fact the Christmas commercialism encroaches on many of you and annoys and even outright enrages many of you. I on the other hand play Christmas music year round. If I'm in a bad mood Christmas music will put me in a good mood. If I'm already in a good mood Christmas music makes it even better. I am a Christmas junkie so when the rest of the world starts to acknowledge Christmas it just makes my day... This has been a tough year so I'm not going to hesitate to start celebrating the fact that Christmas is in the air. (I am also very, very thankful so Thanksgiving is where up on my list too.) It's not about the presents or decorations or music or even family (though that's getting close). Christmas is NOT about the stuff but for me the seeing the "stuff" reminds me even more about the real stuff of Christmas. That we are desperately loved by the Creator of the universe. So much so that He began to give the ultimate gift on Christmas. I know December 25 is at very best arbitrary and at worst adopted from pagan celebrations but what better to warm hearts at the beginning of Winter? This morning something within me was saying I need a little Christmas right this very minute...and there it was :-)


Christmas in a Chestnut Shell
Luke 2:10-14 KJV

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. [...and women and children and plants and animals ]

Thank God for Cops and Soldiers!

I was coming home from playing in Folsom late last night and started to go through my old neighborhood in Auburn. I forgot that my intended route would take meby American River Canyon Overlook. The CHP were still doing crime scene work and politely asked me where I lived and also politely instructed me to take another route. As I drove away I thought of the other officers who had either lost their lives or been wounded in the day's crime spree. I thought of the NYPD officers that were attached with a hatchet earlier this week. I thought of the Canadian soldiers that lost their lives in service to their country this week. I thought of the US soldiers around the world fighting protect their loved ones and fellow citizens. There is a reason why being the military is called being in the service. There is a reason why police officers and firefighters are called public servants. They do what the rest of us won't or can't do. They go to the danger while instructing the rest of us to avoid the danger, to separate ourselves from the danger.

Are there soldiers, police officers etc that are bad apples? Of course, there are. No one debates that. But for the very most part these are good and brave people who go to work everyday knowing that it could be for the last time. Are they perfect? Of course not. They are human beings who have volunteered for a super human undertaking. The ones who do it honestly and well are the majority and they deserve our utmost respect and occasionally our immediate compliance. The level of scrutiny they are under is ever on the increase. They ARE for the most part quite accountable. As a society, most of us have a video camera on our person at virtually all times. There are lawyers who are always ready to go after a City or an law enforcement officer at the slightest hint of impropriety. And we are a culture that now thrives on and only seems to respect disrespectful behavior and attitudes. We are ever more erratic, unpredictable and violent. And yet the uniformed peace officer is expected to be more restrained than ever. Again I am not saying they are perfect. But as citizens WE SHOULD also be expected to have some accountability and self restraint. (And for that matter, if you suspect law enforcement to already be against you for whatever reason, you should be MORE RESPECTFUL not less. What sense does it make to poke the bear that you already believe is out to get you?)

There are those who would ask why I like "them" so much. I would answer with these words from A Few Good Men. "Because they stand on a wall and say "Nothing's going to hurt you tonight. Not on my watch."" And for those who know the next line, they, the military and law enforcement do "police" their own in addition to policing/protecting us. In the military, when they are caught crossing the line one thing their behavior is called "conduct unbecoming" and they are deemed UNFIT. Once again I say no military or police organization is perfect. Because no human is perfect and these organizations are all made up of humans. No one discounts that. But the good ones, and they are the vast majority, bravely protect, serve and fight the freedom and safety of us all. And by us, I mean honest law abiding people. (And even honest law abiding non citizens.)

To all of those who wear a uniform and serve your fellow citizen; I thank you! God bless and protect you! For the families of those who have given their all. We are so sorry for what you are going through. We are praying for you. Words are not nearly enough to say thank you for all you and your fallen loved one has sacrificed. Thank you for the restraint you exercise day in and day out. (Especially, yesterday , knowing that your own had fallen and the perpetrator will be given the benefit of the doubt in our court system.) Thank you for standing on that wall.

For those who have and will do harm to others, as a Christian, I do love you. But I am allowed to pray that you are brought to swift justice in this life as well the next.

I love you all, uniformed and civilian alike. May we ALL treat each other with respect, courtesy and honor. I pray God's blessing and protection on you.

I was just thinking...

Your mission... "Mylon Nathaniel Brikowski was the youngest person ever appointed to the U.S. Supreme Count. Known affectionately as "City Myles" he was also undoubtedly the hippest." 

Gender, Race, Etc Or Creed: I Don't Care What You Look Like...

Creed:

"A creed, confession, symbol, or statement of faith is a statement of the shared beliefs of a religious community. Creeds are not intended to be comprehensive, but to be a summary of core beliefs. The term "creed" can also refer to a person's political or social beliefs, or is sometimes used to mean religious affiliation."

Etymology[edit] See also: Credo

"The word derives from the Latin credo, which means "I believe" (because the Latin translation of the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed both begin with this word) so a creed may also be called a credo. A creed is sometimes referred to as a symbol signifying a "token" by which persons of like beliefs might recognize each other.[4]"


I do know that racism exists. Believe me. I believe and in fact know first hand that prejudice exists. And to be perfectly honest I have actually experienced more prejudice from "my people" than from other ethnic groups, because I have lived my life according judging by content of character versus skin color. (Mind you not by a lot. I have not suffered too terribly in life at all.) I believe this is because of God's grace and the fact that I was raised to work hard and respect people. So, I have generally received that respect in kind. Most (and I say most because I usually don't like to make "allness" statements) of the conservatives or Tea Partiers or whoever, I know vote their conscience and their values. And most of those values are birthed from a biblical worldview.


Race is a very tricky deal. And I think that in large part, like with other 3rd rail issues both sides would do well to actually talk to each other... But it appears in our current society where most of the voices would probably consider and indentify themselves as progressive or liberal that to even discuss some of these issues is racist, sexist etc. My favorite talk show host is Dennis Prager . (This link is for his website, specifically for one of his articles on racism) He came up with this acronym. SIXHRB: sexist, intolerant, xenophobic, homophobic, racist, bigoted. Put any of these in the mix and you stop all discussion. Are there people out there with SIXHRB-ian views? Of course! But I truly believe much inportant discussion and debate is eliminated because once you are ACCUSED of any of the above the all bets are off and you lose. Not "convicted" but accused. For many, the fact that I could easily be called an "arch conservative" or "right winger" makes me "self loathing" as a black man. (Personally, I have ALWAYS considered myself a moderate. One of my main philosophies of life is this. BALANCE IS EVERYTHING.) Or a traitor to my color. I seriously do not care about color, gender etc. Mine or anyone else's.

I vote the way I try to live. I measure positions, people, ideas, and what not in this manner: Do the ideas or positions measure up to biblical standards as I understand them? Do the people act with integrity and goodness towards me and others, as far as I know? Do the ideas work in the real world? Are the ideas the best thing for our society as a whole? (Not just me and my needs, not just any particular group. But society as a whole.) Back in the day, I often debated internally about which of two of my talk show hosts that I listened would make a better godparent for my kids or a better political official. One was a straight, black male Libertarian. The other was a gay, Jewish male (I believe) Republican. (Please forgive me for not having a female Democrat in the mix.) Based on what I knew of them from their broadcasts, I would have chosen or voted for the gay Republican. Because in a relatively close race, his values won on over the other candidate.


Life is complex, but at the end of the day, try to know what you believe and why you believe it and seek the truth of every matter that is presented before you. I don't vote for anyone based on their skin color or what their opponents say about them. I let their own record and their own words define them. Heck, they're politicians. That could be hard enough to parse through...


“From all this we may learn that there are two races of men in this world, but only these two — the “race” of the decent man and the “race” of the indecent man. Both are found everywhere; they penetrate into all groups of society. No group consists entirely of decent or indecent people.”― Victor Frankel


To draw from the Prager well again, we don't need to reach agreement, just clarity. Or to paraphrase myself, I don't care if you dislike me as long as you dislike the real me.

Matthew 12:25 NIV

Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.

Different context? Yes, but Jesus' words and this principle seem pretty clear. Let's figure out what we can agree on and work from there...

With that knowledge, maybe the decent can join together on the things we have in common and passionately yet politely discuss the rest. I believe we can do this if we try hard enough. Regardless of our different creeds etc. True tolerance doesn't mean everybody will think and feel and act the same way about everything. It just means, to quote the Rev. Rodney King...you know.

I LOVE YOU ALL!

Nice IS (Often) Different Than Good

My son and his awesome drama troupe did Into The Woods this past spring and you can learn a lot in the woods. In the song I Know Things Now we find little Red Riding Hood straight from being rescued from the belly of the Big Bad Wolf singing this. "Mother said, "Straight ahead," Not to delay or be misled. I should have heeded Her advice... But he seemed so nice." We can a learn from this line alone. Sometimes, "old", "ancient", "out of date" advice is really wisdom.

I Know Things Now from Into The Woods by Steven Sondheim

[LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD]
Mother said, "Straight ahead," Not to delay or be misled.
I should have heeded Her advice... But he seemed so nice.

And he showed me things Many beautiful things,
That I hadn't thought to explore.
They were off my path, So I never had dared.
I had been so careful, I never had cared.
And he made me feel excited- Well, excited and scared.

When he said, "Come in!" With that sickening grin,
How could I know what was in store?
Once his teeth were bared, Though, I really got scared-
Well, excited and scared-

But he drew me close And he swallowed me down,
Down a dark slimy path Where lie secrets that I never want to know,
And when everything familiar Seemed to disappear forever,
At the end of the path Was Granny once again.
So we wait in the dark Until someone sets us free,
And we're brought into the light, And we're back at the start.

And I know things now, Many valuable things,
That I hadn't known before:
Do not put your faith In a cape and a hood,
They will not protect you The way that they should.
And take extra care with strangers, Even flowers have their dangers.
And though scary is exciting, Nice is different than good.

Now I know: Don't be scared.
Granny is right, Just be prepared.

Isn't it nice to know a lot!
And a little bit not...

Proverbs 14:12 NCV
New Century Version
Some people think they are doing right, but in the end it leads to death.

Red found that out the hard way and if not for the courage of the fearless butcher...excuse me baker Red and Grandma would have been lost. There ARE times to get off the beaten path but wisdom would suggest not at the invitation of a wolf.

There are things in this world that SEEM nice and beautiful and fair and good. But nice is often different than good. It would be nice to just raise the minimum wage for everyone. But not necessarily good. You can't just start paying all of your employees higher ages without consequences. If your company only makes so much money and suddenly is required to pay out a lot more money what do you do. Contrary to popular believe not every business owner is rolling in dough and exploiting their workers. Most small and medium business owners are fighting for their own survival. So what happens when the government acts nice and forces them to page a higher wage than they can afford? It's most likely that one of two things will happen. Either they comply and pass the difference on to their customers (because the government can't suddenly make the business a lot more revenue) or they can keep their prices the same, raise the wages the pay and (because the government can't suddenly make the business a lot more revenue) let some employees go. Raise, nice. Laid off, different than good.


Or *transgender bathrooms for elementary school children.
(*Click on link for full article.)

Transgender Bathroom Rights Bill Passed By California Lawmakers

By DON THOMPSON 07/03/13 09:01 PM ET EDT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California lawmakers approved a bill Wednesday that would require public K-12 schools to let transgender students choose which restrooms they use and which school teams they join based on their gender identity instead of their chromosomes.

Some school districts around the country have implemented similar policies, but the bill's author says AB1266 would mark the first time a state has mandated such treatment by statute.

The issue has become a battle in some local school districts around the country. For instance, a Colorado family filed a complaint with the state's civil rights office in March, claiming that their local school had violated the state's nondiscrimination laws. The family had been told that their first-grader, who was born a boy, could not use the girl's bathroom and would have to use the restroom in the nurse's office or the teachers' lounge.
California's bill would give students the right "to participate in sex-segregated programs, activities and facilities" based on their self-perception, regardless of their birth gender."There should be certainty that every kid has the chance to go to school and be treated equally and fairly," said Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, who carried the bill in the Senate. "We know that these particular students suffer much abuse and bullying and denigration. We can't change that overnight, but what we can do is make sure that the rules are such that they get a fair shake."
That may seem nice and good and beautiful and fair for the minute portion of the elementary school population that identifies themselves as transgender. Please hear me. I AM NOT ADVOCATING BULLYING, NAME CALLING, ETC. But you literally cannot be nice and fair to all parties in this instance. You cannot be fair to the children who do identify with their own gender and are uncomfortable with sharing a bathroom with the opposite sex and with the children who are not comfortable within their own birth gender. Please forgive the Star Trek analogy here but you cannot always sacrifice the needs of the many for the needs of the few...

Our society is becoming so fragmented and relativistic that it could soon be impossible to say anything is nice, good, fair or beautiful because there are so many views of what is nice, good, fair or beautiful.
It's nice to say that everything is equally good. Everything is equally beneficial to society. It's actually impossible to live out tolerance of everything. To do so, you would have to be tolerant of...the "intolerant". Which isn't "nice"...

In the words of the Rev. L. Red Riding Hood "Now I know: Don't be scared. Granny is right, Just be prepared. Isn't it nice to know a lot! And a little bit not..." 

There are so many other instances in life when it would be great just to be nice. There is much wisdom to be found in the ancient, old-fashioned bible. And yes, I do admit there are things that are very difficult to reconcile, comprehend, interpret and apply in our modern world. But with a great deal of patience, study and discernment it is actually good, if not always nice. Sometimes it is better and even best to gain from the knowledge and wisdom of the past.

Rev. Hood also said "And I know things now, Many valuable things, That I hadn't known before: Do not put your faith In a cape and a hood, They will not protect you The way that they should.And take extra care with strangers, Even flowers have their dangers.

And though scary is exciting, Nice is (often) different than good."

What kind of keyboard player are you? I'm a bass player ;-)