Prisons of the cross:
A look at
faith-based
prisons in Bush's America. Proponents argue that indoctrinating convicts
with religion makes them les likely to reoffend; then again, so would the
Ludovico Technique as seen in
A Clockwork Orange; maybe we should try
that next? (Then there's the issue of whether giving religion to people prone
to violence and aggression would produce aggressive zealots, or even self-styled
instruments of divine vengeance.
Maybe if they used Buddhism, rather than the God of the Iron Rod, the programme
would make a bit more sense.)
How long do you suppose it is until agreements
to attend church become binding parts of standard parole terms in the U.S.,
with ex-cons being jailed if they have a crisis of faith and stop going?
(Australians: Don't laugh. If this kind of thing washes, John Howard will make
faith-based social programmes a key election plank to counteract his image of
economic-rationalist meanness. He already lets the Salvation Army dictate
drug policy, so jumping completely on the Dubya bandwagon would be a very
trivial step.)