Utopia and Children

Christ has said that no one can enter the kingdom of heaven unless they are born again.

Utopia is not for adults with their hearts filled with preconceived notions and prejudices. When a child learns to be prejudiced, that child loses the innocence that entitles entrance into utopia.

We need to teach our children in ways that will free their minds from the chains that bind the older generations, while keeping them safe from the evil that lurks on the streets, in the computers. That's a tough balancing act.

What will utopia do with criminals, or children who misbehave? The entire correctional and penal industry depends on a seemingly endless supply of criminals. Utopia is only sustainable when it can deal with a system that is designed to phase out, when all the criminals are gone. What kind of criminal justice system can it be?

Star Trek has rehabilitation centers. That's easy when energy is cheap and resources plentiful. What choice can a society make, when the choices are between saving the lives of children who are starving, and making the lives of criminals comfortable. I think the Bible has a very good illustration of these choices. In the Old Testement, when it was a society of poor slaves running away from their enemies, the Law was tough and ruthless; in the New Testement, when it was a society living in peaceful times, as a major trading partner of the Roman Empire at the peak of its power, Christ taught the spirit of forgiveness. I have always been puzzled by the dicotomy of the Bible in this respect, and is only now reasonably certain that a society must adapt its law with circumstances. As Christ said, the laws were made for men. As long as the laws hang from the two great commandments, or the principles which form the foundation, the constitution of a society, then changes to them are necessary as societies evolve.

We cannot reach utopia in a single giant step. And on the long journey there, we must adapt the rules, to suit the circumstances, as long as the adaptations are made in the right spirit, i.e., going in the right direction on the long journey, then forgiveness truimps over all. Some place in the book of Isaiah, I believe, is the basis of the message of forgiveness that Christ taught: a righteous man who sins, even if he was righteous all his life, becomes a sinner, and similarly, a sinner who repents and sins no more, even if he was a sinner all his life, becomes righteous.

Each country is on a different path towards utopia, and different points in the journey. Each must decide for itself what is appropriate for its criminals. Just like each person must decide for himself or herself what is appropriate in each decision, trusting in each person's conscience alone, each society must decide of themselves, according to their own collective conscience, weighing the choices and resources. No country has not had dark days in its past, and so none is in a position to dictate what anyone else should or should not do. Any attempt will sound hypocritical.

When we reach utopia, we will have more freedom to make the right choices, and not be faced with the dilemma that we must face today, everyday. Until then, we can only teach children to make the right choices, with an open mind, a pure heart, and be careful of the evil on the streets, not necessarily to fear them, definitely not to hate them, but to pity the ones who can see no hope in the future, no joy in their lives, but to resort to the lowest form of existence that was the beginning of human evolution, to fight and steal from each other. Utopian reactions to criminals and misbehaving children, I believe, would be a balance of firm consternation and compassionate concern. What can be done for them, depends on the resources and abilities of the time.