We Can Do Better Than This: Redefining Citizenship in the 21st Century

The 7.125 billion people on this little blue planet have the ability to connect with, learn about, and interact with each other more than ever, and our political systems and definitions of state and citizenship must adapt. In the 21^st century, what will we use to decide who can become a citizen and what it means to be a citizen? Someone who pays taxes? Someone who was born in the country? Someone who identifies with a particular cultural group? Someone who speaks a certain language? The person’s skills? The ability of the person to contribute to their community?

Earlier this summer, I visited the Statue of Liberty and Elis Island in New York City. Learning the history of immigration in the United States reminded me how recently all of us who are not of Native American descent came here. Certainly if there were immigration restrictions when the first European settlers arrived, most of us would not be alive! This lack of restrictions stemmed from a very different understanding of land ownership, as well as other factors. Ironically, the majority of people who are now calling for restrictions on immigration have benefited from little to no restrictions on immigration in recent history. We are too quick to forget our past.

Recent political events in the United States, namely the lack of support by the Supreme Court to uphold President Obama’s immigration expansion and the outrageous calls by presidential candidate Donald Trump to exclude entire groups of individuals based on religious affiliation are very concerning to me. Further, this desire to build walls and cling to the past has shown up in Europe, with the decision of 15.6 million citizens of Britain and the British commonwealth to leave the European Union and anti-refugee sentiments. As someone who has learned about the danger of such ideas and actions to peace and prosperity, I feel obligated to try to understand where this wish to exclude is coming from. I believe that everyone is inherently good, but that negative energy waves ripple through our society, causing these types of behaviors.

I admit, I am certainly not a political science or history major. However, as a human being, I know there must be a way to restructure our immigration and political systems so that every person, no matter where they were born, can pursue the path that they believe will help them thrive, support their family, and contribute to the GHP, the Gross Human Product – it doesn’t take a shiny degree to know that. A system that allows everyone to live where they want without long wait lists, fear of being deported, or fragmentation of families. Yes, it’s easier in the short term to maintain the status quo, especially if you are in a group that is seemingly “benefiting” from the way things are. Change is scary. On the societal level, it takes it takes energy and time to reverse systems and beliefs with a lot of momentum. Perhaps the greatest obstacle we face, however, is on the personal level. No law or edict can take the place of the work each of us must do, to dig deep into ourselves and search for the fears and insecurities that lead us to push each other away. Perhaps we are afraid of what we will find, perhaps we think it is easier to feel anger and hatred than to recognize the nuanced imperfections and goodness in each of us. But if we don’t do this work now, we will miss out on so many wonderful things that can only be achieved when we develop love and trust with our fellow earth travelers.

Take 20 minutes today to reflect on your own beliefs about what it means to be a citizen of your country. What does citizenship mean to you? How you feel about allowing others who are not citizens of your country to live and work with you? Do you think anti-immigration arguments are founded? Why do you feel that way? After you think about these things, consider asking your friends and family these questions. Better yet, find someone who has different beliefs than your own. Through your vote, your voice, and your actions you have the power to shape the world of tomorrow into one that is better than today.

Race, the Criminal Justice System, and Drug Addiction in the US

1 in 3 Black males, 1 in 6 Hispanic males, and 1 in 17 White males born in 2001 in the United States will spend time in prison if current trends in our criminal justice system continue according to a report by the US Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics in 2003 .

Justice is not being served equally.

I only began to learn about the criminal justice system in earnest this past summer when I had the opportunity to visit a detention center through the non-profit group El Refugio. As we walked into the detention facility, I looked back to see the electronic detention center gate, lined with barbed wire at the top, mechanically slide shut behind me. For the first time in my life I felt completely trapped and powerless. This experience made me realize that I needed to learn more about the prison system in America.

So I read The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander. Honestly, I don’t really know where to even begin talking about what I learned through reading this book. So first, let me say that if you haven’t read this book, I highly recommend that you do. Hopefully the following thoughts, which just scratch the surface of everything covered in the book, will motivate you to learn more.

The sheer extent of of the mass incarceration system in our country is something that I was previously quite oblivious of.

The above graph is from The Sentencing Project.

This is not normal. For comparison, look at the incarceration rates in other countries.

Number of people in federal, state and local prison per 100,000 people in 2014  (according to the World Prison Brief by the Institute for Criminal Policy Research)

USA: 693 people per 100,000 (over 2.2 million total)
Mexico 212 people per 100,000
China 115 people per 100,000
France: 99 people per 100,000
Sweden 55 people per 100,000
Japan 47 people per 100,000

And what is the primary reason that these individuals are imprisoned in the US? As of February 2016, 46.5% of inmates in federal prison were there due to “drug offenses” according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

But let’s just take a closer look at the breakdown of the US population. This figure from The Prison Policy Initiative pretty much says it all:

In The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander argues that the criminal justice system in the US allows for systematic racial oppression. In other words, our criminal “justice” system has morphed into well oiled machine to keep an entire group of people subjugated under the pretense that it is their fault, and that race has nothing to do with it.

To be honest, though, when I first began reading The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, I was somewhat conflicted. I thought to myself, when someone breaks an agreed upon rule, such as possessing or using an illegal drug, there must be consequences.

However, I was taking a few things for granted. I assumed:

1. That the “rule” would be equally enforced by law enforcement
2. That the court system would be fair in charging individuals
3. That extent of the crime would be matched with the punishment
4. The court system would try to act in the best interest of the individuals and their communities

Unfortunately, these assumptions were incorrect.

I admit, I was (and surely continue to be) very naïve about the continued existence of racially based prejudice and differential treatment in my everyday life. Perhaps the experience that really “hit it home” for me was watching one of the Republican presidential debates a few months ago, where the candidates were explaining how they supported policies that provided addiction treatment, not harsher sentencing, for heroin users.

Let me pause here and say that I fully support giving individuals struggling with drug addictions medical treatment and community support, not throwing them into jails. Addiction is not a moral failing, and is arguably more reflective of our failure as a society to help people struggling with addiction and other issues.

But let’s just look at the difference between how our society has responded to the cocaine epidemic versus the heroin epidemic. When many predominately Black, low socioeconomic status individuals were (and still are) struggling with cocaine addictions, our society decided to lock them up, out of sight, and to take away many of the things that could have helped them recover, such as ability to get public housing, vote, and become employed. Now we face a similar situation: many individuals are struggling with heroin use. However, instead of imposing harsh prison sentences on these individuals, many law makers and law enforcement groups are creating programs to help these individuals access treatment and get a second chance without immediately going to prison (watch this Frontline episode to learn more about the Heroin epidemic). You may think, wow, what a great response this time around, why didn’t we do this before? Well, of course there is one big difference: the people affected by the heroin epidemic are predominately White, middle class.

And this is about the point when I simultaneously wanted to cry and scream, because I could see from my own experience how Dr. Alexander’s points were all too true.

So what can we do right now to start addressing this issue?

1. We must become more informed about the current system, what led to its development, what is sustaining it, and how to change it. Again, I really recommend readingThe New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.
2. We need to engage in conversation with individuals and communities impacted by the “war on drugs” and addiction. What has their experience been? How can we partner with them and use their knowledge to make significant changes?
3. We need to hold our politicians accountable, and speak up when they advocate for policies that target certain racial groups and fail to address underlying issues like income inequality and lack of access to education. We also need to encourage financial support for programs which support and treat (using scientifically based treatments) individuals struggling with addiction, not for more privatized prisons. The 2016 election is fast approaching, do you know your candidate’s position on addressing drug use?

In addition to these large-scale changes, it is imperative that we make changes in our own everyday behaviors and thinking patterns. One point in the book that I really connected with was the issue of whether the end goal should be creating a “colorblind” society. As a White person, I have always assumed that by not acknowledging racial differences, I was avoiding being racist. However, now I wonder that perhaps by attempting to be “race neutral” I was failing to embrace the beauty of diversity, different points of view, and different cultural heritages. Indeed, for many of us, our race, whether we like it or not, is a core part of our identity.

Perhaps, as expressed by Michelle Alexander, we should strive to make “a commitment to color consciousness…[which] places faith in our capacity as humans to show care and concern for others, even as we are fully cognizant of race and possible racial differences… seeing race is not the problem. Refusing to care for the people we see is the problem” (1).

So I am challenging myself to try to acknowledge and celebrate racial differences, while understanding that compassion and love are human emotions that flow much deeper than skin color. I wish I could say that making this change in my fundamental behavior and feelings will be easy and happen right away, but I am going to keep working towards this goal even though I know I will mess up sometimes and feel uncomfortable, because it really matters to me.

Let me know what you think. Has the system of mass incarceration affected you or individuals in your community? Have you read The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness? How can we move forward as a society while learning from our mistakes? As you can tell, I am still very new to this area, and would love to hear your thoughts, reactions, and experiences.

(1) Alexander, M. (2012). The new Jim Crow: mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. New York: The New Press.