When you meet someone for the first time…Think about it, what do u feel? What do u think? What do you say? I am sure for most the answer would be “it depends on the situation” . It may well do but at the same time, the easiness to which the reaction supposedly depends on the situation really projects our insecurities. Why do we spend most of our time thinking about what others are thinking about us? Why don’t we ever realize that other people are busy thinking about what we are thinking about them? Why does the situation dictate how we are going to react to a stranger?

I am sure you are not reading my article because you are so eager to answer annoying philosophical questions. Therefore, I will give you my theory and maybe you can prove, disprove, or otherwise just leave it alone.

My theory is that we are so insecure because we live in an age where instincts have been reduced to “vibes.” I am sure when Homo habilis was still kicking, he did not have the word “vibes” in his dictionary. Hell, he did not even have a language to explain his reactions to the occasional stone ager he came across. He just knew by instinct whether the newest acquaintance was friend or foe, I mean back then I don’t think there were fake friends..or as we call them nowadays, backstabbing bastards.

Why am I going back so far? I should just talk about our brothers and sisters in the wild. The king lion, the venomous (apparently conniving) snake and the amazing insects. They live through instinct ( although that’s what they probably say about human beings) They know when to stop and when to run without wondering if they are making a mistake because they trust their instinct.

Human beings are crippled by the second thought, which I like referring to as “Doubting Thy Inborn Instinct”-DTII (I know. It will never catch on). We are constantly battling our inner intuition commonly referred to as gut feeling. We never know when the feeling is right or when its subject to our own irrational fears.

Our collective instinct is ultimately compromised that way. And therefore, don’t wonder why the guy sitting next to you on the bus did not answer you when you commented about the weather. You started a battle inside the poor guy when you turned to him with a smile. He is wondering if he should just agree with you about the nice spring weather and then go back to his iPod or psp, or whether he should pre-empt an annoying conversation with an overfriendly passenger for the rest of the journey by pretending he did not hear you.

As we grow older, the overwhelming internal battle intensifies and we find ourselves so isolated, as we no longer are able to make simple acquaintances. We look for a motive behind every move and the deceit behind every smile. Many times, we may have missed on rare chances to make great long-term relationships, but also at times, we could have saved ourselves from unbearable grief. And just as our fellow animals in the wild, we are not always right and we may live to regret the best of chances we missed, but so far, we have managed to keep our heads on our necks and I guess that is the ultimate triumph. Don’t you think?…

In 1981, Ricky Ray Rector asked the prison guards not to remove the dishes from his last supper, because he would want his dessert when he returned. Not comprehending the full extent of his punishment, Ricky was executed by lethal injection. Would you execute a convict who cannot establish the difference between reality and fantasy? We all want to be treated equally—despite our unique essence—so we migrate to a land that provokes monotonous justice. We leave behind “an eye for an eye” judicial system, only to find exceptions made toward minorities when it comes to the same crimes. Due to the discrepancies between written laws and its actions; and an opinionated declaration of the afterlife; capital punishment should be illegal in United States. 

It should be unacceptable that while the law states otherwise, its actions are carried out differently. The Eighth Amendment states that cruel and unusual punishments should not be inflicted. Its definition is clear, but its connotation allows each state to define its own level of “cruelty”. No burning, no stoning, no gas, no minor, no retarded, why are criminals classified for the same crime committed? Capital punishment is in fact killing an individual—regardless of their malicious deeds. Is it not hypocrisy to possess a method that is: you murder him; therefore we are going to murder you? Some crimes committed are so inhumane that our first emotion is rage and disgust that this monster is still allowed to live. “The death penalty, in other words, is predicated on the idea that the primary goal of justice is revenge. But revenge is not law; it is derived from emotion rather than principle, and justice is by definition a principle blind to emotion” (Manville). The fear that a convict will commit the same crime again once out on parole (which was proved in some cases) is the main reason why capital punishment still has voters. The solution is: no parole. If one is sentenced for life, life is neither 10 years nor is it 20 years, life is until one dies. Life without parole, education, or special treatments is the answer not only in making sure that the wrong individual convicted is not mistakenly murdered, but also the criminal is not released to harm again.

The concept that a criminal should be killed to suffer is based on an opinionated belief that life after death would in fact offer them the punishment they rightly deserve. 

If one of the purposes of punishment is to punish wrongdoing individuals, where is the punishment in permanently removing them? Sure they won’t be slaughtering again, but where is the justice in that? Not every American believes in the afterlife, and if America’s first amendment is freedom of religion, why is only one belief being practice? No qualms that certain people deserved to be permanently removed—but it is not up to them to play ‘God’. Life is not theirs to give nor is it theirs to take—because that’s exactly what criminals are doing. Capital punishment supporters say it’s for the best, by killing one, they’ll be saving five, that ‘the end justifies the means’. If this is the case than half of its population should be either locked up or killed, no exceptions!

A country that states and carries and bases some of its laws on opinions rather than facts need to revise its governmental structure. Crimes should neither be excusable nor go unpunished. If the same crime is committed, then the punishment needs to be the same throughout each state. Capital punishment is ineffective because life after death is unknown and criminals are not afraid of dying, otherwise the rates would decrease. Crimes will always surround us since it has been doing so before Christ. The money used for death row criminals needs to be spent educating prospects criminals about moral conduct. Convicts’ sentences for life need to mentally and socially suffer for ‘life’ living with the knowledge that they took another life—now that’s punishment. Nothing sinks better into the depth of darkness in our mind than guilt and regret.

How is my long time friend. May
I say, you have had me around
the bend to no end
Taken drugs to deal with you
You haven’t won yet you
silly fool
Oh, close yes I have come to deaths
hand but I came back guess that was
the plan
We play tug-of war you and I
You pull me one way and I pull back
the other. Hoping and fighting to stay
one more day
We dance to. You dance very well,
embracing me like you do
You are the blanket that covers me but you
don’t keep me warm
I am as cold as the Atlantic
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