Cole Smith
Period 2
Corbett
DJ #5
This week’s reading was to finish the book, and I have to say, so far it has been quite a meaningful book to me because I can relate to it so much. It’s not often that I can relate to a book, but this one’s stories of underdogs really hit home for me. The three stories this week were very motivational too. The three strikes and Holocaust stories really moved me more though. “The state of California conducted the greatest penal experiment in American history, and after twenty years and tens of billions of dollars, nobody could ascertain whether that experiment did any good.” Now, I am a firm believer in a justice system, and after reading this story, I feel as if the three strikes rule is a little harsh, but very fair at the same time. Now, believe me, I think the death penalty is a just way to rule things, very old school, very old fashioned, and very cut to the point. However, many may argue that taking lives through the justice system is simply too extreme, but I disagree. The cost of one man’s life is the cost of another man’s life. In ancient civilizations, these rules were even harsher, and low and behold, not that many people committed the crimes because of how brutal the punishment was, because more often than not, the punishment was indeed death, and that scared most people because committing a petty crime would end their life. Today, if someone commits a petty crime, they go to jail for a month and can easily get out on bail at worst. Now, I know times have significantly changed with the age of technology, but I don’t think that punishments should be less strict even though we have found a new quality of life for human beings. In the end, we all are truly equal inside and out. And by the fact that no one could even ascertain if the law did any good scares me. I mean, if giving a man or woman three strikes isn’t enough to persuade them to not commit a felony, what is? I think some individuals get two felonies seeing that they are able to without serious punishment and then get a third. The second story about the man who wrote Visas to help Jewish people escape danger really moved me as well. I mean, if you want to talk about a single man making a difference on 10,000 peoples’ lives, this is your story. Just goes to show that one man can be worth more than a thousand depending on his
