Good Homes, not More Prisons is the
Answer.
Most people
who populate our prisons come from substandard homes. Homes, that
instead of being havens where one replenishes one's strength to be
able to live as a productive member of the community, are a source
of existential anxieties, mostly because "homes" are becoming less
and less obtainable due to their ever-rising cost, which causes an
ongoing decline in quality of what a "home" should be: "an
environment offering affection and security" (an apt definition
according to WordNet Search - 2.1.).
A very simple remedy of this situation would be to recognize that
human physical bodies have basic requirements that must be met for
humans to be able to function properly. If those basic requirements
are not met, then the stress thus caused generates various physical
and mental dysfunctions that impair the capability of humans to
function well and to be effective in meaningfully contributing to
the welfare of their communities.
To be able to take care of one's basic needs is a natural,
unalienable human right, because without honoring this right the
whole society suffers. Indeed--having a good home is a basic
condition for the "pursuit of happiness"!
As it is now, this right is not being honored to the extend that
even just to sleep and rest is not legally protected activity,
unless one is able to purchase this right.
The benefits of honoring and defending this right would be far more
greater than could ever be assessed on monetary basis. Without
having this right our social miseries will keep on escalating to
the point of destroying the whole of humanity.
That this right is not being recognized and honored is due to the
fact that the right to pursue happiness at the expense of others
(read: the right to pursue profit at others' expense) is placed
above more, for the benefit of the whole system, important
considerations.
A physical place, where the very basic requirements necessary for
one properly being able to function in one's community could be
very simple, with no frills--not much more than a safe and a
sanitary campsite--for a start.
It is still not too late for us to become fully humane. All we have
to do, is to give ourselves a big break. Honoring the very basic
natural human rights will be, even in the short run, immeasurably
cheaper than the cheapest prisons possible.
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