The Ethics of the Justice System

        As I was driving home from a recent track meet of mine and interesting story was played on NPR. The story was about the disparity between the death of a victim and the murderer's death. In the case presented, the victim was brutally murdered in a road side ditch after suffering in pain for hours while the murderer was silently and respectfully killed in his sleep. The point was that we give the criminal too much respect in a sense and that they should be treated as they treated their victims.

        I, for one, completely disagree with this sentiment. The idea that the Justice System's purpose is not ruling out justice as the name implies, but instead revenge is an abhorrent stance. By promoting the killing of violent criminals they have reduced themselves to the level of those they are committing. The idea that you become less of a human just because of an action is deeply immoral. This only furthers the idea that humanity is an attributed characteristic, which only leads to the creation of a subclass of humans. No one in there right mind would openly decry that humans not all equal, yet anyone who believes in revenge towards criminals is saying exactly the same thing (this may be a strawman or red herring; I'd appreciate a correction).

        This brings me to my second point. If the justice system is not in the business of revenge, what is it in the business of? The obvious answer would be correction and you would be right. But, in this lies the problem with capital punishment; it doesn't correct anything, it simply redacts the problem. The criminal is never given a chance to defend themselves or show how they've changed. I understand some will probably never change but is that reason enough not to try? Regardless, the fact that some criminals will not change is only evidence that further treatment is required. Killing the criminal is only a sign of laziness on the system. I, for one, would rather not be a part of a society that would rather take the easy route instead of a path thats bound to get results.

        We must not forget that criminals, above all else, are human. When we try an strip this from them we act immorally and unethically. These are terms I would rather not be attributed to a judicial system that represents me.

Why the Tenet of Abstinince is Morally Perverted

        My family is extremely religious and until a few years ago I was too. I've been to church every Sunday of my life and gone to Sunday school for most of that time. During the latter end of those classes, in my teen years, ever single lesson seemed to be focused on a single topic: virginity. Every single Sunday night my classmates and I were told that the best thing we can do for our future husbands and wives(as if they were already chosen for us and our free will meant nothing, but I digress) was to maintain our chastity and be abstinent. I didn't think much of it at the time but mostly because I had never been put in a position were my "faith" was tested. Later, when I began to question my faith, I came back to this lesson and decided to look into it further.

        Its funny how this tenet is accepted almost universally among religious people without a seconds though to its deeper purpose. Its yet another example of the ignorance necessary of religious believe but the point of this post isn't to bash religion that openly. To simplify the dogma it would be that the best thing you can give to your future love if your body. Now this seems utterly ridiculous to me. The best thing my future wife can give me is not her unbroken hymen, that is absurd. What strikes me as odd is that the Christianity and most other religions are openly against the objectionable of people but that is exactly what they have done here. Your future wife or husband is only as good as the condition of their body, a physical object. Lets just forget about the life they have lived; it is all about their body according to the church. To any rational person, the best thing a spouse can give is unconditional love, never-mind what else they have done in their life.

        I'm just going to note here at the end that marriage can not only be based on mental and emotional compatibility. Physical compatibility is just as big of a component. I would talk about it further but i don't feel educated enough in the subject to get into it. So please take this with a grain of salt, after all I'm only 18, I'm not some expert of marriage or sexuality. Anyway, thanks for reading.

-Nate