Presumption

I think most of us truly enjoyed the interview with the neighbor who helped free the three women that had been held captive for a decade. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kW8YutGUSgs
 He truly is a hero!

 As the comments began to gather regarding this horrific ordeal, I began to deliberate some facts many of us may not take into consideration. The man accused in this situation also had two brothers accused along with him. I was shocked and dismayed at the number of people who were convinced the brothers were also guilty, and the number of people in America who want to exact quite severe penalties without having the facts. Even the victims have indicated, no one knew they were there but the one man who allegedly abducted them and held them. I'm using the term, allegedly, because we must cling to the right of "presumed innocent until proven guilty."

The next fact that entered my awareness was the fact that many people are related to someone who has committed a crime, been proven guilty, yet had no idea about it at the time or played a part in it, but the family still bears a certain level of shame in regard to this family member. Not only were these brothers immediately reported to have been arrested, with pictures ect. making the top headlines; the presumption of their innocence was immediately annihilated without due process.  They were released, but it is impossible to give someone back their time or their reputation.

With 1 in 4 Americans incarcerated, we simply must not let ourselves be carried away with the idea that everyone related to someone who has committed a crime deserves punishment as well.  Three out of 4 Americans polled say religion is losing it's influence, while still 75% say religious influence is exactly what America needs.

The true oxymoron in all of this information is the fact that 25% of America is already labeled a criminal, while new laws are being passed making all Americans about 1/2 step away from breaking a law, while the Americans being polled, which I'm guessing is the un-incarcerated are wanting more religious influence and stiffer penalties, all the while decrying their fear of Islam.  Israel isn't even a Theocracy and American Christianity does not believe in Biblical law, so the solution is really getting narrowed down to the implementation of man made laws in the footsteps of Rome.

I'm not calling anyone's siblings criminals, here, but I think we can all agree that we would not want to pay for a crime our sibling committed.  That clearly goes back to the childhood defense, "I didn't do it, he did!"  The old adage, birds of a feather flock together, can be family values, but it's usually the choice in friends and associations by choice.  We don't choose our family, and even in the case of criminal values, some rise above that.   "Honor punishment" will not resolve the problems we are facing.

A country in which 1/4 of the population is imprisoned and 3/4 of the citizens insist upon religious values to govern the laws, yet insist upon man-made laws and stiffer punishments and even suggest punishment by familial connection; that country is ripe to embrace the very "enemy" it claims to fear the most.