So for anyone that knows me very will, you probably have heard me
talk about restorative justice and community conferencing. In case
you don't know what restorative justice is, its basically a broad
paradigm that focus on healing problems though dialogue. The goal of
restorative justice is to address multiple levels of a conflict and to aid
individuals directly or indirectly affected by the crime at hand. Its an
awesome concept and has been empirically proven as more effective
than our typical criminal justice system. If you want to know more, just google
it. There is a ton of information.
Anyway, just wanted to pass this on to anyone who is interested. I recently met with Athens Mediation who shared
this video with me, definitely empowering and I highly recommend
checking it out.
This video shows the power of dialog and is an awesome example
what working together within our community can do. The thing is, it doesn't
just start or end with events like the ones shown in this video. If we stopped
worrying so much about a labeling people as deviant, and instead understood why
they do what they do, maybe we wouldn't have 7.3 MILLION individuals under the
supervision of the criminal justice system. If you don't think that you care
for any other reason, then you should understand how much money this is out of
your pocket, your tax dollars. Or maybe you can look past the money, and focus
on humanity. We may find forgiveness is an essential element of conflict resolution,
not just the castigation of your neighbor. Through
the values and goals of restorative programming, we may find a nation that
focuses not on punishment but restoration. We may find communities where
offenders are not labeled and disenfranchised, but given forgiveness for their
crimes. Finally, we may, with careful and diligent efforts by practitioners,
transcend laws from those restricted by technicalities and loopholes to those
that encompass their true intention— the protection of society.
