I have previously written on the realities of adopting US standards of life, liberty and imprisonment, and the current levels of incarceration. However today I learned that the US average figure of one in forty two being either in prison, on parole, or awaiting sentancing is just that, only an average.

The state of Texas currently (as of 2002) has one in twenty-one Texans are under the care of the department of corrections. Texas is #2 in the country for percentage of its people actually behind bars having 762 per 100,000 locked up. Louisiana beats them with narrowly with 776 per 100,000 locked up. Staggering as these figures are, they are worse when you get a historical perspective. In 1980 the rate of incarceration in Texas was 210 per 100,000.

Why isn't anyone stopping to question why in this supposedly so great country, so many of its inhabitants are choosing to check out of society and get checked behind bars courtesy of the local Dept. of Corrections? And we are not talking minor misdemenours or deviations from the constitution, we are talking major crimes. This country has 1 in 110 men surving in excess of one year in jail. 1 in 11 black men in their late 20's surving at least one year.

Folks, the reality of America the Brave, America land of the Free, or America the whatever the government is raming down our throats and the media is raming into our heads, is a travesty of the reality that is witnessed by our prison population. Its time people stood back, took a look at their country, their leaders, their employeers, their detractors, their society, themselves and ask the very important question:

Is our current direction of pursiing life, liberty and happiness based only on monetary goals, leading our society into an untenable state?

To me the answer seems, most definitely yes. We have to change direction and stop the pursuit of goals based purely on financial costs, and change direction right now!