Three Blind Men

Model prisoner John Benny Williams, second from left, is 83, and has been denied parole over 20 times.

Yahweh brings about justice for the oppressed

    and offers food for the hungry.

Yahweh frees prisoners

     and opens the eyes of the blind.

- from Psalm 146

Buckingham Correctional Center near Dillwyn, Virginia, is housing at least three legally blind inmates with long records of good behavior. Yet they and scores of other deserving persons are being regularly passed over for parole or geriatric release. 

One of them, John Bennie Williams, pictured above, has been incarcerated for over thirty-three years. He has been denied parole over 20 times. A second blind inmate, Minor Junior Smith has been incarcerated over forty-four years. A third one, a Mr. Jeter, has only recently been declared totally blind, but I have no information about his age or condition. However, he is reported to have been a hardworking and dedicated kitchen worker at Buckingham for many years. 

In addition, there are many other sighted persons who are deserving of parole and/or geriatric release at BKCC and other Virginia prisons. Robert Davis Fitchett, Jr, for example, is a model prisoner who was incarcerated at sixteen years of age for a crime he committed nearly forty years ago. Charles Zellers, Sr., another model inmate, has been incarcerated over twenty-three years and has been employed in a responsible supervisory role by the Buckingham Division of Virginia Correctional Enterprises (which generates profit for the DOC) since November, 2006. John Clinton Wright, a highly trusted prisoner who has worked for wardens at the Powhatan Correctional Center for over over thirty years, will turn 89 in November. 

These are only a few of many remarkably rehabilitated men, as their wardens and their supervisors can attest.

Why are we keeping aged and reformed prisoners incarcerated who are demonstrating consistently responsible behavior? Shouldn't we expect a Department of Corrections costing us in excess of a billion dollars a year to actually correct some of the people in their charge?

Here's a link to more posts on parole reform and how to contact the Governor's office, the Parole Board and the Secretary of Public Safety: http://harvyoder.blogspot.com/search?q=parole+reform

Cat Pulls Off A Mysterious Disappearing Act

A similar cat story, sort of

Garfield, a young yellow feline adopted from a nearby shelter, quickly became a beloved member of our daughter's family in Rochester last week. The grand-twins, just days short of their fifth birthday, loved him, and even the 11-year old grandson became very fond of this new addition to the family.

Then Saturday morning he was nowhere to be found. Everyone searched high and low, in every possible hiding place in and around the house. The granddaughter, one of the twins, blamed herself, was sure it had escaped through the patio door she had temporarily left open. The most heartbroken of all, she cried unconsolably at times throughout the day.

Grandparents and friends were called, next door neighbors were contacted, even local animal shelters were alerted to be on the lookout for this playful young cat. Fervent prayers were offered, too, not just for Garfield's return, but that he would be kept safe and well cared for.

By nightfall everyone had pretty much given up, but after the twins went to sleep last night, our daughter Joanna made one last round around the house with a flashlight in an approaching storm, hoping to find the lost and latest member of their household. All to no avail.

Then at ten p.m. we got an excited phone call from Joanna, reporting that the cat had just reappeared out of nowhere in the oldest son's room, just as if nothing had happened.

We were elated, knowing how much this would mean to the grandchildren. And this morning Joanna made a videotape of the celebration of the lost being found, reminiscent of a story Jesus once told of a shepherd rejoicing over finding a lone straying sheep.

A miracle? We think so.

If only someone could figure out where Garfield was hiding, and what he was doing all that time.

"Talk With Them All"

Lee Eshleman (left) of Ted and Lee fame

In light of the growing polarization I sense everywhere I’ve been reminded of some words spoken by the late Lee Eshleman over a decade ago. They are a part of an interview (with fellow humorist Ted Swartz) done by WVPT’s Jenni Howard for a documentary on area Mennonites:

Lee: “Take whatever stereotype you have about Mennonites, and assume it may be true for a fraction of us, and not true for another fraction of us. Then talk to us one on one. And do that with everybody, everyone in the whole world.”

Ted (incredulously): “You mean everyone?”

Lee: “Yes, everyone. Talk with them all.”

Of course we know that’s impossible, but the wisdom in Lee’s wit is that any generalization we make about any group--Mennonite, Catholic, Mormon, Muslim, Republican, Democrat, liberal, conservative, you name it--needs to be tempered and tentative until we have “talked with them all.”

So what if we took more time for personal conversations with our recent immigrant neighbors, for example, inviting them into our homes and learning to know them as real people? Or what if we invested time in meeting with any number of others in our community holding a wide range of views--varying from militant to peace-loving and everything in between? Or if we really took time to listen deeply to members of other races, religions, nationalities or sexual orientations with whom we have few personal connections?

I’m not suggesting we should agree with everyone who differs from us, or compromise our own convictions to accommodate theirs. But we can at least learn to respect others and to show appreciation for the complexity and diversity within each person--and within each group of people as a part of God's beloved creation.

So here's my new goal. Before making any hasty judgments about any group of folks, I want to talk with them all.

You Can Join The Valley Justice Coalition

DNR photo

"The Valley Justice Coalition is made up of residents of Rockingham County, the City of Harrisonburg and adjacent areas who are concerned about justice reforms in our community and in the commonwealth."

Vision:  A community engaged in reducing incarceration and recidivism.

Mission: To use a combination of public education, policy advocacy, coalition building, and grass roots organizing and mobilization to promote such reforms.

General Goals:
A. To actively promote changes in policies and practices that currently contribute to over-incarceration.

B. To encourage the implementation of justice reinvestment, restorative justice and other alternative programs.

C. To promote humane treatment and a more family friendly environment for those currently affected by incarceration.

D. To promote best practices that reduce recidivism.

E. To support community programs that help reintegrate those affected by incarceration.

Action Steps:

1. The Valley Justice Coalition endorses the general recommendations stated in the Criminal Justice Facts Statement and suggested by the Sentencing Project:

a) Eliminating mandatory minimum sentences and cutting back on excessively lengthy sentences.

b) Shifting resources to community-based prevention and treatment for substance abuse.

c) Investing in interventions that promote strong youth development and respond to delinquency in age-appropriate and evidence-based ways.

d) Examining and addressing the policies and practices that contribute to racial inequity at every level of the justice system.

e) Removing barriers that make it harder for individuals with criminal records to make a successful reentry.

f) To advocate for national accreditation for all local jails and for Virginia prisons.

2. VJC will also advocate for the implementation of rational policies and evidence-based practices, while supporting numerous nationally recognized correctional options such as:

a) Strengthening re-entry services

b) Expanding mental health treatment

c) Expanding substance abuse treatment

d) Investigating ways to reduce intake numbers

e) Generating reliable planning data

f) Investigating pre-trial confinement policies and practices

g) Increasing pre-trial and probation staff

h) Implementing community based sanctions and programs

i) Expanding the day-reporting program

j) Increasing system coordination, goal setting, and oversight

k) Improving assessment and diagnostic processes for offenders

l) Identifying alternatives to incarceration for non-compliant probationers

m) Expanding the application of Community Service for non-violent offenders

n) Encouraging increased involvement of the Judiciary in developing criminal justice solutions.

This group has an open meeting on the first Monday noon of each month (or the second Monday if there is a national holiday on the first Monday) . To be on a general mailing list and to show your support, contact the VJC website https://www.vjcharrisonburg.org/

Four Ways To Use Money To Gain Happiness

source

Here's the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home. 

- Jesus (Luke 16:9, New Living Bible)

Researchers are finding that money can actually make us happier and add joy to our lives. But it doesn’t matter so much how much of it you have, but how you use it. 

Here are four ways you can manage money to add to your sense of wellbeing:

1. Resist spending money on newer or nicer material possessions. Cornell University psychology professor Thomas Gilovich suggests that buying more things doesn’t really add to our enjoyment of life because we quickly adapt to them, the luster wears off, and the new additions to our wardrobe or to our three-car garage simply become a part of a new norm we soon take for granted. (Sadly, this mindset also negatively affects our offspring, who grow up expecting an unsustainable standard of living they consider their right).  

“Human beings are remarkably good at getting used to changes in their lives, especially positive changes,” says Sonja Lyubomirsky, psychology professor at the University of California, Riverside. “If you have a rise in income, it gives you a boost, but then your aspirations rise too. Maybe you buy a bigger home in a new neighborhood, and so your neighbors are richer, and you start wanting even more. You’ve stepped on the hedonic treadmill. Trying to prevent that or slow it down is really a challenge.”

2. If you do spend money on yourself, get far more bang for your buck by investing in new experiences rather than in new possessions. Ryan Howell, associate professor of psychology at San Francisco State University, found that people think material purchases offer better value for the money because they are tangible and last longer. But he points out that a lot of the satisfaction people gain from new experiences is in anticipating them ahead of time, and also found that when people recall and relive them, they also find that such experiences are a gift that truly keeps on giving. Think traveling or serving abroad, or visiting a long time friend or relative, or hiking the Appalachian Trail.

3. Invest in generous giving of the kind that adds to others’ happiness. Multiple studies show that we gain the greatest satisfaction of all by spending our wealth to better the lives of people in need. Elizabeth Dunn, associate professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia and co-author of the book “Happy Money,” says that while earning more may tend to enhance our well-being, we become happier by giving it away than by spending it on ourselves. 

In one experiment she handed out cash to college students on campus and told some to spend it on themselves and others to spend it on someone else. Those who spent money on others reported being far happier than those who spent it on themselves. 

She also analyzed data from 100 countries and found that people who donated money to charity were happier whether they lived in poor or rich countries. As people see their money making a difference in other’s lives, it gives them great joy even if the amount they have to offer is small.

4. Put your savings to work by doing “impact investing” through organizations like the Calvert Fund and similar organizations.  This way your retirement money can be supporting causes that are truly in line with your values, like providing money for small farmers and entrepreneurs around the globe, or in funding start-up solar or other projects you feel deeply about, for example. Imagine being able to help alleviate poverty, improve the lives of people and help make the earth a better planet while still having some money available for retirement if you need it. 

The interest isn’t great, but the principal is remarkably safe, and the investment honors principles you feel deeply about.

And living by time-honored and Jesus-inspired principles should make us all very happy indeed.

Here's a link to some of my sources for this piece: 
http://www.wsj.com/articles/can-money-buy-happiness-heres-what-science-has-to-say-1415569538

See also: http://harvyoder.blogspot.com/search?q=microlending
http://harvyoder.blogspot.com/2011/05/imaginary-interview-with-galilean.html

Author Trump: "I Call It Truthful Hyperbole"

NBC news photo

"Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace."

- Zechariah 8:16 (ERV)

In his best-selling 1987 memoir, "The Art of the Deal", Donald Trump describes some of his communication style thus:

"People may not always think big themselves, but they can still get very excited by those who do. That's why a little hyperbole never hurts. People want to believe that something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular. I call it truthful hyperbole. It's an innocent form of exaggeration--and a very effective form of promotion".

Now we know. Not that other politicians aren't guilty of the same, but Mr. Trump takes this kind of playing fast and loose with truth to a new level.

The Pulitzer Prize news service PolitiFact has been documenting Trump’s rhetoric on its Truth-O-Meter, and they have rated 76 percent of his "facts" as Mostly False, False or Pants on Fire, out of 77 statements checked. 

Here are are a few of his more well-publicized claims they consider not only as representing hyperbole but as being Pants on Fire inaccurate:

• "I watched when the World Trade Center came tumbling down. And I watched in Jersey City, N.J., where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down. Thousands of people were cheering."

• "The Mexican government ... they send the bad ones over."

• "Whites killed by whites — 16%. Whites killed by blacks — 81%." 

• "If you're from Syria and you're a Christian, you cannot come into this country, and they're the ones that are being decimated. If you are Islamic ... it's hard to believe, you can come in so easily. In fact, it's one of our main groups of people that are coming in."

• "Look, we’re the most highly taxed nation in the world." 

For more details, check this link:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2015/dec/21/2015-lie-year-donald-trump-campaign-misstatements/

A Church Right Next Door To Dachau

Dachau Concentration Camp

I recently heard Jason Gerlach, associate pastor of Community Mennonite Church, tell a group of us about the wake-up call he had that led him to become a volunteer jail chaplain.

He was in his church office overlooking the Rockingham-Harrisonburg Regional Jail while reading an essay by Duncan Forrester, "The Church and the Concentration Camp: Some Reflections on Moral Community". *

In that piece, Forrester noted that less than 100 yards from the perimeter fence around Dachau concentration camp, the first of its kind established by the Nazis in 1933, was a small eighteenth-century Christian church. Forrester immediately wondered what might have been going on inside that church as Dachau gradually became an ever more horrific death camp, eventually housing up to 5000 Jews, German priests, gypsies, gays, Jehovah's Witnesses and others seen as undesirable or who refused to support Hitler's regime.

Forrester writes:

     Some things are almost certain. The Bible would have been read, Sunday by Sunday, or day by day. There would, at least from time to time, have been preaching, expounding and application of the message of Scripture. Bread would have been broken in the Lord's Supper, the Eucharist, the Mass, with the people receiving the Body and Blood of the Lord. From time to time children and even adults would have been received into the household of faith in baptism. God's praise would have been sung and prayers offered for the Church and the world. All the ordinary central activities of a congregation of God's people within a hundred yards of of Dachau concentration camp. And through the wire all the comings and goings of congregation and of concentration camp visible to one another, paraded before one another.

What was most impactful in this essay for Jason was that there was no record to be found anywhere of that church, or of any other in the area, ever raising its voice in protest. How could most Christians in Germany, one of the most Christianized nations in Europe, either silently or overtly support Hitler's scheme to gain absolute power and to rid the Reich of non-Ayrans?

I'm in no way suggesting that our jails and prisons are just like German death camps. To say that would be to seriously minimize the horror of the Holocaust.

Yet we do need to recognize elements that are similar. In spite of the lip service given to making incarceration a time of rehabilitation, most of our inmates experience it primarily as a time of humiliation and punishment. In her book, "Burning Down The House, author Nell Bernstein writes, "Prison dehumanizes, not as a side effect, but as a central function. ...every aspect of institutional life conspires to diminish a young person's sense of herself/himself as someone who matters."

The ongoing negative effects of incarceration on individuals, families and communities are both costly and devastating, as recently pointed out in a report issued by the Brennan Center. It finds that longer prison sentences have little deterrent impact, and that in fact each additional sanction year causes an average increase in future recidivism of 4 to 7 percentage points. In addition, they point out:

• Having a criminal record makes it more difficult to find employment. Recent job application experiments find that applicants with criminal records were 50 percent less likely to receive an interview request or job offer, relative to identical applicants with no criminal record, and these disparities were larger for Black applicants. The formerly incarcerated earn 10 to 40 percent less than similar workers without a history of incarceration.

• The probability that a family is in poverty increases by nearly 40 percent while a father is incarcerated.

• Because incarceration secludes individuals from their families and communities, it decreases the likelihood of marriage and increases the likelihood of divorce.

Whenever and in whatever way fellow human beings are demeaned, deprived of their dignity and liberty and cut off from the opportunity to live productive and responsible lives, the church must raise its voice and extend its hand to help restore justice and shalom.

******************************

* published in "Faithfulness and Fortitude--In Conversation With The Theological Ethics of Stanley Hauerwas", edited by Mark Thiessen Nation and Samuel Wells.

For more posts on jail reform see http://harvyoder.blogspot.com/search?q=jail+reform