The Moral Failing of a Nation

We face a crossroads of unimaginable proportions, a divide so large that

failing to cross it leaves the balance of an entire race in the limbo. The issue of race
and to a degree social status and equality have always vexed us since the
beginning of this nations inception. We started as a greatly hypocritical nation,
expressing many liberties and freedoms for some while brutally repressing others.
!ver time we founded something di"erent from those which had come before us, a
democracy #albeit unperfected$ founded on the ideals of a host of new freedoms not
given before to the common man. !vertime, we slowly corrected the errors of the
original wrongs which our nation had perpetrated against many of its citi%ens&
slaves, women, and children. 'ut even in those beginning corrections, we did a
disservice to those very citi%ens whose very dignity had been a"ronted. (lthough
we had begun to right many of the wrongs which those citi%ens faced we stopped
short of what was needed and today we now face an even greater problem. For
purposes of clarity and topic, ) will focus only on the issue of race relations in
(merica in regards to 'lac*s #(frican+(mericans$ and White (mericans. The 'lac*
(merican is still largely the ,other- in (merican society, even considering the great
strides which we as a nation have ta*en towards racial equality. 'ut don.t let the
fa/ade fool you altogether. We have only traded one evil for another. (nd unless we
correct that evil once and for all, we ris* repeating a failed attempt at racial
sub0ugation. 1lavery ended some time ago but its underlying political motivation
never ended with the institution. )nstead, over the years those same people who
had been empowered under the old guard introduced a new system which could on
the surface appear color blind while really being anything but. ( new 0ustice and law
enforcement disguise sprang up. 2ound up the blac*s under the guise of law and
order and instead of using them as labor forces #although many are used still as
labor forces$, loc* them away and ma*e the chances of rehabilitation into society
near impossible. (nd for decades this ploy has wor*ed. ,( ploy3- you might say. ,(ll
of those currently in prison deserve to be there.- 'ut below the surface lies a truly,
ugly evil.
4urrently, the 5nited 1tates leads every developed nation in the world in
regards to prison population. While only accounting for 6 percent of the world.s
population, (merica accounts for more than 76 percent of the world.s prison
population. )f you include numbers of those on probation or parole, the number of
(mericans under law enforcement supervision 0umps to an astounding 8.7 million
(mericans. T9(T )1 2!5:9;< = )N >?>2< @7 (M>2)4(N1A >ither the world.s most
,civili%ed- nation actually is a land of bandits and criminals or a greater problem lies
at hand. 1o let.s loo* at the facts because this is where the illusion of 0ustice falls
Bat. (ccording to the latest 51 4ensus 'ureau 'lac* (mericans ma*e up
approximately =@.C percent of the 51 population. Ta*e a guess at the ma*e+up of
'lac* (mericans in the 51 prison population3 DE percentA 1o are blac*s more
inclined towards crime3 More attracted to a lifestyle of crime and poverty3 The clear
answer is no. The less obvious answer is that this ma*e+up of the prison population
#and much of the institutional racism that seeps through all of (merica$ is all too
intentional.
The vast ma0ority of criminals now serving time are behind bars for drug
related o"enses. Non+violent, low level drug related o"enses. 4rimes that
statistically spea*ing, your white next door neighbor is also probably committing.
Thin* your average, white middle or upper class college student who happens to
also be the main supplier of ecstasy pills and weed on a college campus. 1o why is
it that one gets o" while the other sits behind bars and then languishes in a 0ustice
system designed to do anything but provide 0ustice3 The answers are actually well
*nown and well documented. ( quic* history lesson& )n =F67 4ongress passed a law
called the 'oggs (ct. )t prescribed mandatory minimum sentences between two to
Gve years for mari0uana possession among other GnesHpenalties. )n =F8E 4ongress
then repealed mandatory minimum sentences for mari0uana. (long comes =FIC and
the (nti+Jrug (buse (ct again creates di"erent mandatory minimum sentences for
possession of various types of drugs. (t its heart, the (nti+Jrug (buse (ct was
meant for ,eradicatingKhalting international drug traLc, to improve enforcement of
federal drug lawsK- )t should be of note that the mandatory minimum sentence for
possession of 6 grams of crac* cocaine was 6 years with no parole #a drug type
typically used by inner+city blac* drug users$. The same law ascribed possession of
6EE grams of powder cocaine #typical user& upper+middle class, rich white people$ to
reach the same mandatory minimum sentence. That is a =EE&= sentencing disparity
for what amounts to the di"erence between choosing 4o*e or Mepsi as your drin* of
choice. The laws and the select application of them through and through are not
meant for law enforcement crac* downs on legitimate commercial drug rings but as
a fa/ade to imprison the blac* population of (merica.
This abandonment of the humanity of the blac* population has led to a
rec*less abandonment of principled discourse and action within the 5nited 1tates
towards combating racism in (merica. (ll too often the narrative is changed to
demoni%e the ,other- while Gnding excuses to not really loo* at the underlying
problems. We #both 'lac* N White$ have become all too comfortable to sit about
and allow the status quo to persist. 'ecause we have moved away from the outright
hatred and racial tensions of the =F6Es and =FCEs we believe that we have
somehow evolved beyond our human capacity for hatred, fear, and
misunderstanding. ) would beg to di"er. We have only changed our pre0udices and
misunderstanding to evolve with the societal norm that persists today. We create
apps to avoid ,s*etchy areas- #yes, an app was recently created which allows users
to avoid ,s*etchy- areas of varying locales$, we see in unarmed blac* teens
weapons which are not there, guilt where only innocence lives. We must be willing
and open to have discussions which at times will be painful and hard to hear but
necessary if we are to evolve beyond the prevailing system. There are other things
that must change as well. ( very real start to dismantling the current ,0ustice
system- and having a system which truly prescribes true 0ustice is by undoing
mandatory minimum sentences. 5tah federal 0udge, Maul 4assell, who in 7EE8
chaired the criminal law committee of the Oudicial 4onference, noted in testimony
before the 9ouse Oudiciary 4ommittee of a sentence in which he had to give a
longer sentence to a Grst time drug o"ender over that of a murderer he had also
sentenced. 9e described the di"erence in sentencing between the two crimes as
,bi%arre-. To say the fuc*ing least.
There are many other ways in which we must consciously and subconsciously
combat racism both within ourselves and the larger community if we are to ever
stop witnessing the prevailing headlines of the day in which our brothers, sisters,
and loved ones are demoni%ed simply for being blac*. For now ) will end here but
there is much more that will be said and must be said so that hopefully we can
begin to truly heal ourselves and our nation.
Much ;ove,
Jreon