I read lots of statistics, even though I find poetry more edifying. I believe some statistics, some of the time. Poetry doesn’t require belief, just feeling. Which I find is easier than thinking? Both will occasionally overwhelm your emotions, ranging from laughter to tears. Statistics often display a certain symmetry but are more likely to make you go blind (or to sleep). Meanwhile, both cover the entire range of human endeavor.

 The statistics troubling me today are numbers (aren’t they always?). As is often the case, the “numbers” are actually humans beings. Some years back (not many) America was reputed to have 1,000,000 people locked up. At the time it was a sobering statistic. Naively, some folks (me) thought, how can there be that many “criminals”?

 Currently the statisticians inform us there are over 2,000,000 (!) people locked up. Also difficult to comprehend, I’ve read we're approaching 1 person out of every 100 being locked up!? (1of 99 depending on which statistics). Apparently this is also more than any other country both as a percentage of population And in total numbers!

 This is way too much math for me to figger. But it’s truly scary to consider numbers that huge when it refers to humans locked away? Counting up on my fingers and toes I can figger up right quick it’s costing (me&you) zillions to keep all of them in jail. I wonder too, at the emotional cost to the ones locked up. And how they’ll behave when we let them out? (to once again live amongst us).

 My concerns focus more on some of the why(s) than simply those huge numbers. Who’s raising these people?! Who’s teaching them how (not) to live? And are they ALL, that bad? I mean, are all those humans locked up because they’re actually dangerous to the rest of us? And doesn’t it make sense that being in there (very long) will make them even more dangerous?

The debaters like to argue over whether people in prison are being “punished or rehabilitated”? I’m not sure which it is or should be. But I’m thinking, D---! they were raised and taught how to live while living free among us, yet they wound up in jail.

 What are they learning In jail? How to be a good person?! How to live honestly, work, raise a family while pursuing the American dream? Somehow I don’t think their new “learning” environment is ever going to “improve” them.

 Having meandered through all that, I’ll now get to my primary concern. Which is simple, 2,000,000 people in jail is wrong!

  I don’t care how you slice it, there’s simply no way this country should have that many people locked up. You can discuss the myriad “environmental” factors, ad infinitum. Bad homes, divorce, joblessness, poor schools, race bias, peer pressures, mental illness, toothaches, ingrown toenails, whatever.

 I’ve got a different take on it (as I often do). We’ve made a glaring societal mistake (yes, that includes me And you). Nearly four decades ago Our government began a “War on Drugs”. Laws were passed by legislatures, twisted by lawyers, enforced by judges. We’re still locking people up for simple drug use! While the rest of us plead innocence (oops, I meant ignorance).

 Roughly half the people locked up today are there for “drug offenses”. That’s a lot of people!  Many (most?) of them convicted for mere possession or personal drug use.
 Meanwhile, this specious “war on drugs” goes on (and on and on) costing billions (trillions?) of dollars. Folks, we’ve fought many (real) wars but None lasted for decades! I think Somebody (besides the drug dealers) must be making Big Money off this “war”.

 We all know humans have been getting “high” legally for thousands of years. Oops, gotta say tipsy, buzzed or drunk, reflecting societies acceptance of imbibing. This is acceptable because long, long ago governments learned to regulate (make money on) alcohol!

 Years ago in the Netherlands, Amsterdam took another novel approach. Instead of prisons (and wars) they built “coffee houses” serving up coffee and Marijuana. They regulated it, taxed it and make money (!) off “soft drugs”. Instead of Paying Out money to lock people up! 

 Same thing coulda been applied to so called “soft drugs” here. With proper government regulation, use of those “drugs” could become similiar to drinking alcoholic beverages. Taxes could be collected, money made, instead of spent. Mostly from the same people we now keep locked up in jail, at our expense.

 I don’t know about you..., I ponder, should we unlock our thinking instead of locking up our people?

Cal Teeple, sole fulltime member of the Observational Cogitation Consortium may often be found three stools down from you. He may be ignored, accosted or contacted at: twinews@wayneindependent.com.