We were reminded at the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington that there is still a long way to go to “Reclaim the Riches of Freedom, Regain the Security of Justice” in America and despite his strong religious upbringing, the Governor of California is proving that there is still work to do! Read about the Governor Brown’s plan to continue investment in privatized prisons and further mass incarceration in California from Peter Laarman:
No one should be fooled when the “other” Jerry Brown benignly quotes various church fathers and doctors or waxes philosophical on the thinking of Josiah Royce or on the weltanshauung of Rainer Maria Rilke (yes, Brown likes to show off his erudition in this way). When push comes to shove, Jerry Brown’s only operational value is political expediency. He is unnaturally fearful that state and national Republicans could somehow thwart his re-election plans with a “soft on crime” attack line. He ignores polls that show that most California voters support smart justice solutions. He refuses to engage in rational conversation about rational approaches. What he remembers is that the prison guards gave him $600,000 for his last campaign. While Dr. King is still on our minds, maybe we can recall one of his clearest prophetic statements: Cowardice asks the question, Is it safe? Expediency asks the question, Is it politic? But conscience asks the question, Is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but because conscience tells one it is right. No amount of high-end religious training appears to have shaped Jerry Brown’s conscience sufficiently for him to escape the all-too-familiar pattern of selling himself politically.
Read more at Religion Dispatches: Jerry Brown’s Cynical, Unethical Prison Plan.