Secrets

It's a beautiful Saturday morning.  I sit out on my back patio, watching the song birds cavorting around the bird feeder.  More rain had come last night, and you can almost here the sigh of relief from the earth as it soaks up the rain that fell overnight.

I just got done listening to "Secrets", by One Republic, and it made me think of some revelations that came out this week. 

I found out that various members of my extended family were alleged to have molested children.  Talk about a bombshell.   What is scary about child molestation is how widespread it is, compared to how little people talk about it.  If you read this blog, you have seen my numerous "Crimes against Children" posts.  You have seen how many people are being caught and convicted of child molestation, child pornography, and sexual abuse.

What you don't see are stories of long, drawn out trials involving child molestation, child pornography, and sexual abuse.  People will fight charges of murder and robbery tooth and nail, but they will admit to abusing a child, take their sentence, and go back to doing it again.  It's a shameful thing.  The perp knows it, and society knows it.

Yet, despite the numerous convictions, crimes against children continue to proliferate, and flourish.  Why?  Is it the Internet?  Is it peer-to-peer file sharing?  I think a large part of it is societal acceptance, as evidenced by the lack of society's willingness to address the issue.

There is no need for another 'war'.  The 'War on Drugs' and the 'War on Poverty' are just two examples of rhetorically empty phrases that represent only modest gains for society.  Let's not waste our time on such silliness.  What is needed is to bring this issue into the light.

Pedophiles are cockroaches.  We need to turn on the kitchen light and begin stomping.  Perhaps we can start out with a rehabilitative approach.  I understand that.  If you can get family members to come forward and report their kin, with the understanding that their kin will get help, they will be more apt to do so than if they know their kin will go away for a long time.

Unfortunately, recidivism, the probability that will will re-offend, is very high for pedophiles.  At some point we will be faced with the question, do we incarcerate for long periods of time, at great expense, or do we provide serious consequences, such as the death penalty?  I know what my heart says, but this is a decision for the mind, not the heart.

But at the least, let's do away with the secrets.  They are killing us.

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