Our children are our future, so why do we treat them so poorly?

As public schools in the US are facing one crisis after another (primarily due to the defunding by the advocates of privatization), young people in our country are beset by another attack - increasing criminalization. While progressives have drawn some attention the mass incarceration of Black males, “the evidence suggests that the growing criminalization of American youth is increasingly affecting all races and genders.”

A recent study, published by the Rand Corporation found that Americans between ages 26 and 35 were 3.6 times more likely to have been arrested by the time they turned 26, as compared to those who were born 40 years earlier. Among men aged 26 to 35 with less than a high school education, 60 percent reported having been arrested at least once by age 26.

The findings, published by the journal Crime & Delinquency, are based on the nation's longest-running household survey that has followed families over generations to gather information about their work histories and earnings. “Increased enforcement is likely a critical driver of this trend,” said James P. Smith, author of the study.

Yah think? I don’t remember having police in schools when I was growing up. Law and order has replaced care and comfort when dealing with young Americans. If you got into a fight on school grounds, and I admit I did on a couple of occasions, your parents were called in, not the police.

“As more Americans are arrested and convicted during their younger years, we see an association with a variety of negative trends later in life, including lower chances of being married and less economic success,” Smith added.

Why is our society robbing the next generations of their future? The abject failure to deal with the existential global warming; the ramping up of militarism, which is bringing the world closer to nuclear annihilation; the failure to pass meaningful restrictions on the possession and sale of guns (guns became the leading cause of death for children, ages 1-19, in the US in 2020); the defunding of education and the criminalization of youth – these are all indicators of a society that has lost its way, or should I say, lost its mind.

While we are distracted by the machinations of a mega billionaire with a god complex (yes, I mean you, Elon), a deranged failed businessman and would be dictator (yes, I mean you, Donald), and the rapid rise and fall of the latest Ponzi schemer (yes, I mean you, Sam), our children’s future is slipping away.

I used to say that I would like to leave this world a little better than I found it, but now, I think I’d settle for not leaving it worse. A luta continua, vitória e certa?