REFLECTIONS FROM THE EDITOR KRISTYN KOMARNICKI
From Chains to Change The old man in Ecclesiastes tells us, “Don’t be too upset when you see the poor kicked around and justice and right violated all over the place. Exploitation filters down from one petty official to another.There’s no end to it, and nothing can be done about it” (5:8, The Message). Well, you can’t argue with the core part of that statement: Injustice and exploitation are indeed widespread. Mammon, that false but nonetheless powerful god, is strapped firmly into the driver’s seat; his hit-and-runs are a daily occurrence, and he enjoys relative impunity. But wouldn’t it be nice if that last phrase from Ecclesiastes 5:8 were true? There’s nothing you can do about it. Bummer. Oh, well. So what’s for dinner tonight? What’s playing at the movies this weekend? Fortunately—or unfortunately (depending on your vantage point)— God tells us that while poverty, oppression, and injustice will indeed be with us always, something can be done about it, and something must. He sent his own Son “to preach good news to the poor, heal the heartbroken, announce freedom to the captives, and pardon the prisoners” (Isa. 61:1)—and calls us to do no less. The Lord commands us not to profit by the blood of our neighbors (Lev. 19:16), but as our cover story on the prison-industrial complex reveals, profit does more to drive our “correctional” system today than crime does.According to the latest figures available, approximately one in every 32 U.S. adult residents is currently under some form of correctional supervision—either on probation/parole or in jail/prison (ojp.usdoj. gov/bjs).The United States incarcerates more people than the Russian Feder-
ation, South Africa, Mexico, Iran, India, Australia, Brazil, and Canada combined. Are Americans more criminal than people in other countries? Of course not, but our aggressive privatization of prisons, our lust for high-yield investments, and our escalating culture of fear have made a business out of caging our fellow citizens. Fortunately, people are beginning— just beginning—to get a sense of how unacceptable this is.A number of movements are afoot: alternative sentencing (see page 13), recidivism-reduction through faith-based training (see page 17), and pressure groups that raise awareness and advocate for real justice (see the action ideas in “The Cost of Color”). While doing research for this issue, I was delighted to discover that a nonprofit called Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility has launched a prison design boycott (adpsr.org/prisons), inviting its members to recognize that our current prison system “is built on fear, racism, and the exploitation of poverty” and “has no place in a society that aspires to liberty, justice, and equality for all.” What’s more, our local/state law enforcement bodies and governments are finally catching on to the fact that faithbased initiatives are more successful in rehabilitating broken people than the lock-’em-up mentality that has served prison corporations so well up to now (without making our streets any safer.) It’s exciting to be at that time pinnacle where just as we acknowledge how egregious the situation is, we also witness the birth and flourishing of a people’s movement to remedy it. Our feature article on hope in an age of terror (“When the Cords of Death Entangle”) reminds us that as Christians we possess the very remedy the world most needs: the promise of a God who saves, renews, transforms, and gives purpose to our lives! And we can joyfully proclaim that promise to one and
all, knowing that in reality we are all on a level playing field. Whether corporate exploiter or armed robber, palm-greaser or sold-out politician, free man or felon, terrorist or victim, we are all equally guilty—and equally loved—by God. As Charles Wesley so poignantly wrote, each and every one of us must make the very same journey from repentance to liberation: Long my imprisoned spirit lay, Fast bound in sin and nature’s night; Thine eye diffused a quickening ray— I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee. In order to trade in our chains and begin to make a change, we all must repent and follow Jesus. May we make 2008 the year we visit or write to a prisoner for the first time, volunteer with a local prison outreach group, befriend and mentor a prisoner’s child, advocate for more just sentencing laws, and/or hold our politicians accountable to address and change America’s culture of incarceration. Let’s show the world-weary old man of Ecclesiastes that while there may be no end to injustice, something can be done about it. “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26). ■ P.S. You’ll find four new columns in this issue: David Gushee on kingdom ethics, Al Tizon on holistic ministry, Sharon GrambySobukwe on global issues, and Rusty Pritchard on the environment. In order to invite more voices into PRISM’s pages, we’ll be alternating many of our columns this year. Look for two more new ones in the March/April issue. We’ll also have a letters page in each issue. Talk to us!
PRISM 2008
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