Here, in Norman, OK where I live, our city government spent
over a million dollars to install massive speed bumps throughout neighborhoods
to provide a perceivable safe place for kids to play. I say ‘perceivable’
because no kids are outside playing because speeding cars are not what threaten
our children. Our neighborhoods have been robbed of kids playing outside,
riding their bicycles, playing catch in the park, building forts in the wooded
areas, walking to the convenient store, and learning how to live together in a
free society. We’ve allowed the bad guys/gals to win by allowing pedophiles to
live in our neighborhoods and terrorize our streets in perpetrating their
perversions on our children again and again. Bullies have been allowed to turn
into gangs that become terrorist against the freedoms of our children. Bullying
has become a major problem and I don’t just mean verbal and emotional sufferings
but like pedophiles, a very real physical threat of harm.
The reality is that we’ve allowed some very real terrorism
to rob our children of the freedom that most adults over 40 grew up with. Fear
of what might happen to our children if we let them outside without parental
supervision is real. Older adults complain that kids these days set inside and
play video games and watch television too much. Yet we adults are the ones who
have allowed the bad guy/gal to win because we’ve become soft on punishment of
those who would target the most vulnerable in society. We’ve allowed these
terrorists to drive our children indoors and rob them of their freedom.
As for the pedophiles, whether you agree or not, the truth
is that the death penalty is a deterrent to crime. We may not want to go back
to the “Old West” days but there were some things that our forefathers knew and
did that provided a free society for families to raise their children in a safe
environment. In the “Old West” crimes against the most vulnerable, children and
women particularly, was met with swift and harsh punishment. Horse thieves,
cattle rustlers, bank robbers, and murderers (those who would terrorize society)
when caught met a swift and final punishment. Prisons were not overrun with
offenders. Graveyards were reminders of what happens to those who preyed on the
vulnerable.
Yes, I am proposing the death penalty for those who are
pedophiles. If, those who would kidnap innocent children and rob them of their
freedom were to meet a swift and a severe punishment of death it would deter
others from doing the same. If the death penalty were carried out, pedophiles
would not be registered sex offenders still terrorizing our neighborhoods
looking for another opportunity to victimize a child. (In Norman, OK there are
no fewer than 46 pedophiles registered with our law enforcement authority.)
They would not be free to perpetrate their perversion on another child. A side
benefit would be that tax dollars wouldn’t go to pay for lengthy trials and
prison time with three prepared meals a day, climate controlled housing, cable
television, workout rooms, education opportunities, etc.
If the bullies were dealt with swiftly and severely they
would not be allowed to congregate into gangs. They would learn and be an
example to others that bullying is not acceptable behavior in the society of
the free. Take the bully at a young age, when their tendency to bully is
manifested in the natural course of children playing, and correct him/her with
swift gentle discipline. If they do not respond favorably with gentle
discipline then swiftly use severe discipline. Maybe if a 10-year-old bully,
who doesn’t respond to gentle discipline, spent a week or month in a juvenile
detention center they would not grow up to be an adult bully who abuses his/her
spouse and children. If bullies cannot control their aggressive behavior then
they must be isolated away from society in prison. When a bully (for whatever
reason) takes up a weapon in order to force his cruelty (such as mass
murderers) on others then a swift and final penalty is appropriate.
If, we as a society began to take these legally acceptable
forms of terrorism on our children seriously, our children would psychologically
regain their value to society. They would not live in terror that the “boogey
man” is still out there waiting to get them again. Their freedom would be
restored and our neighborhoods would be alive with the laughter of children as
they play outside. Society would benefit as children, who have learned to play
together, grow up into adults and know how to get along with others, work
together, and be good neighbors. Our society would be relieved of these legally
acceptable terroristic attacks on our children.
Someone may say “that is not a very gracious response to
those with psychological problems that cause him or her to be pedophiles or
bullies.” My response is “I disagree, it is the most gracious response to our
children that we can have.” I would not rejoice in their demise but I would support it for the betterment of society. If pedophiles and bullies had a zero tolerance in
our society our children would regain a psyche of their value and the
wonderment of freedom in a society that does not live in fear of these
acceptable forms of terrorism.
Is it any wonder as to why children who have grown up with
the tension of these forms of legal terrorism are now willing to give up more
freedom in order for perceived safety? They have already had one aspect of
their freedom taken from them for the perceived safety of a neighborhood with
speed bumps. To give up their Second Amendment right in order to have a
perceived safe environment is not that much of a stretch.
Asking people to give up some of their freedom in order to
accommodate the perpetrators of crime is like putting speed bumps in
neighborhoods where children no longer play outside. Perception can be the
antithesis of reality.
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