(Community Matters) There has been a myth, I’d been taken in myself
The data suggest, for example, that children 13 and under who commit crimes like burglary and theft are just as likely to be sent to adult courts as children who commit serious acts of violence against people. As has been shown in previous studies, minority defendants are more likely to get adult treatment than their white counterparts who commit comparable offenses.
Though there are a few politicians on both sides of the aisle who’d sell their wives & daughters into slavery to preserve their influence and power, most enter these offices with laudable ambitions. Sure ego, power and even, in some cases, greed motivate many – who’d run and how would their enthusiasm be sustained through grueling campaigns if they didn’t possess an extraordinary sense of self? But, what causes mostly well-intentioned men (and some women) to pass grossly unfair laws, or grossly unfair judgments, or to cater to silly little groups like the Birther movement? I’m beginning to believe it is fear of cultural death, i.e, fear that the rise in multiculturalism will overwhelm fantasies of our country’s homogeneity. Of course, it’s never been homogeneous, simply much more segregated.
As to the need for power, that’s another topic – albeit not unrelated. I’ve written before, we should amend Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to include power within the grouping of safety & security needs (i.e., basic human needs). Some individuals will always have a need for power over others, no matter their positions.
Community Matters 