The Second Chance Act and the Sound of Silence

In the immense amount of noise being made on any number of issues (Social Security, the wars in Iraq and on terrorism, Medicare, education, gun control- and the beat goes on), many relevant issues go unnoticed. These issues often fall on deaf ears because they lack the combative nature of something like Social Security, and thus will not play well on cable news, where they draw the line down the middle and have each side shout until the next commercial break.

One such issue offers a broadly positive impact on a long-term basis. It is not discussed because it does not offer Social Security’s strong ideological rift, the high stakes of war, or a sympathetic subject like our children and education. But the particular bill which I wish to discuss enjoys the support of Senator Joseph Biden, President George W. Bush, and Human Rights Watch. This group does not fall into accord often, so when it does take place, we should consider this something of a victory. Imagine if I were to tell you it was to assist ex-convicts.

The Second Chance Act is designed to reduce recidivism, or the tendency for paroled criminals to be convicted for a subsequent crime. This is expected to take place for two-thirds of paroled citizens, and the Second Chance Act seeks to reduce this number through jobs, housing, treatment, and families.

My understanding of prisons is that they were meant to reform those that make a mistake in their life; the mere fact that we don’t mete justice Biblically concedes the fact that we believe these souls can be reformed. At the same time, when an American citizen is emancipated from prison he continues to be treated as if he is serving time. We need to understand that for these souls to be effective in America they need a job, a home, a family, and freedom from dependence (a rough checklist for the American Dream). The Second Chance Act seeks to offer all of these.

The benefits will resonate. Children in America’s cities are growing up too often in single parent homes. Their parents are forced into multiple jobs to make ends meet, they lack role models of both genders in the home, and then they submit themselves to the grim cycle of action that will ultimately lead to their own incarceration. We can help education by offering more two-parent households to monitor and encourage their children’s academic progress. We can ease the tension on welfare by offering more two-income households that can survive primarily on their own income. We can reduce the $44 billion spent on corrections (and that was nearly a decade ago), which does not even consider the costs of arrest and trial.

We need to consider that there are many issues going unnoticed by our strong desire to drown any “sexy” issue in twenty-four argument that is neither progressive nor sincere communication. A simple search on CNN.com returned precisely ZERO relevant matches when searching the Second Chance Act. Recidivism is a hairy issue, because it offers our hard earned tax dollars to criminals, or so the conventional wisdom might offer. Such simplistic thinking is keeping America from progressive solutions to our present crises, which have proved formidable against the status quo and their conventional wisdom. We need to move beyond such knee-jerk judgment and understand that America’s beautiful success is largely attributable to our ability to give everyone a second chance. It is time we reclaimed our greatness, and this is a proper first step in that direction.