Crime

Crime

     There are people who believe that men create crime. Still others insist it is in mans nature to commit crimes therefore we create laws. I say it is neither. I believe that there are Nature’s laws, having natural expected and accepted consequences. Then there are man’s laws. And I believe that crime does not create the need for laws, but that the unnecessary writing of freedom limiting laws creates crime.

     On the one hand, it is argued that people are doing bad things. We see the result of these poor choices, it scares us, and so we call it a crime. Well if it is a crime, let’s create a law that will define it as a criminal action and therefore give it a consequence, a punishment and we will sleep better at night feeling that we have created a threat against these actions we believe we have gained a level of security.

     For example, we see a case in which someone was under the influence of an ‘illegal’ drug, a fight broke out, an accident occurred, and a life was lost. We do not only hold the individual responsible, but we have a tendency to blame the drug. The loss of life is a tragedy, so we instate a law that prohibits use of the drug, instead of just punishing the individual for their part in the accident. Now we have a law that created a crime. I disagree. Law or no law, for everyone one individual that commits a crime while under the influence of such a drug, there are twenty more people doping up on the same drug, having a grand stupid time hurting themselves but no accidents occur.

   We currently see an increase of crime in relation to the war on drugs. I’d like to submit a new perspective. Suppose we didn’t create the laws that say cocaine, heroin etc… is illegal, and instead we prosecuted only the infringement of life, liberty and property. Then whether or not someone is under the influence of drugs we hold individuals accountable for their actions against another. What I see is a bunch of self-destructive individuals who will still do their drugs, but will no longer; steal, smuggle, rape, black-mail, shoot, and murder to obtain their self-destructive substances. I believe they would be smarter about where, when and with who they would engage in these activities with, just as anyone who drinks alcoholic beverages and smokes cigarettes do now.

     From yet another perspective; currently there are millions of people who drink coffee. In the morning, noon, and night they consume this warm beverage of brewed beans. What if we decide that coffee is an addictive substance and it may cause people to act in an unnatural way, i.e. cheerful and alert at 7 am. We create a law that prohibits the consumption of coffee beans in any form. Do you see millions of people suddenly curbing the craving and conforming to the ‘law’? I don’t. I see millions of people committing a crime by definition of the law. The act of drinking coffee is not criminal. There is no infringement upon the life, liberty or property of others by drinking you coffee. But that man-made collection of words that we call ‘law’ has created a crime, and millions of criminals. And who knows what these, brewed-bean-loving dependants will do to satisfy that craving!!

   I do not believe that crime creates law. I believe that man deciding (out of fear) to label actions outside of the actual infringement of life, liberty, and property as criminal behavior; therefore creating laws that limit our freedom to act, creates crime. And the only way to slow the outbreak of these so-called crimes is to go back to punishing the individual for actions against another that infringe on life, liberty, and property!