Let's Stop "Solving" Problems with Knee-Jerk Reactions

 I've always believed that people should be held personally accountable when they choose to do wrong. Though I know these wrong choices often impact others, the direct punishment for these wrongs should be born by the ones making them. Allegedly, that's the same goal of the criminal justice system. Consequently, that's also presumably the goal of legislators who make the laws. 

The problem is that in practice, often the direct consequences of one person's actions are born by many. Two easily identifiable examples are gun control and sex offender laws. 

I believe in responsible gun ownership. Some of the recently proposed gun legislation just makes sense. It is senseless that these restrictions have not been put into place before now (like raising the age of ownership, for example). But restricting responsible gun ownership because of the actions of a few mentally unstable or morally bankrupt people is generalizing a punishment. Likewise, registries that publicly shame offenders after they have served their prison sentence, and other privacy violations enacted in the name of "justice," are generalized punishments. Though initially designed to "track" and shame the most dangerous offenders with a high risk of reoffending, they now apply to entire categories of offenders -- high risk or not. Numerous studies have shown that registries, and electronic monitoring, actually do more harm to communities (and returning citizens) than good. 

Sensationalized news stories often drum up public support for such draconian "fixes" to problems, but the public seems clueless to how these "solutions" erode their own Constitutional rights. Many thought, for example, that the Patriot Act, passed during George W. Bush's presidency, was a good idea. After all, it allowed the US government to track terrorists, right? Yes, but it also allowed the government to track normal U.S. citizens, without search warrants. Now, many Americans just assume the government is tracking their data, as if that is normal and Constitutionally viable. It is not. 

This judicial and legislative overreach, generalizing punishments to entire populations because of public outrage over a big story, has led to the normalization of big government solutions to problems. Our founding fathers would be astonished by how quickly America's citizens have given up their freedoms. No, they would be appalled.

Instead of knee-jerk responses to sensationalized, and tragic, stories of harm, why don't legislators, and the criminal justice system, actually work towards responsible, measurable solutions? Let's reject headline grabbing proposals that often lead to more restrictions without solving any problems. Let's also discard prior attempts at solving problems that have proven to be failures. Instead, let's start actually studying problems and getting to their roots. Mental health is in the toilet in this country. So is morality, responsibility, integrity, and intelligent leadership. We could, and should, start there.