Opinion
The foundation of our civility
By Harry Davidson
Dostoyevsky said, “The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.” By this he shows us a window through which we can view ourselves, a view that allows us to measure the spiritual health and well-being of a society. Why is this so? Why did Dostoyevsky not say that we can judge a civilization by entering its hospitals or homeless shelters? Because of this: Prisoners are the rejected of a society. They have been removed from human community because they are dangerous or undesirable, and have the potential to do harm either by inflicting pain and suffering or by creating chaos and mayhem. When face to face with another human being whose intent is to harm, we are forced to confront the limits of our civility. Under duress we have clarity. But even more so when those who would do us harm are imprisoned and we have complete power and control over them. The depth and limits of our basic understanding and beliefs about the value of human life are put to their ultimate test. And this test does not change when the prisoner is a prisoner of war and a member of a hostile society or community that would subjugate and enslave us. In fact this measure of civility is even more effective and precise the more dangerous and threatening a prisoner may be.
If human beings are indeed made in the image of God, as many of the major world religions teach, and human nature is fallen, as they also teach, then this fundamental belief will inform the way we treat the prisoner. It is from this understanding of the human condition that compassion and mercy have their origin. These qualities are the responses of a culture that believes in the value of life based on its divine source. If human life is a gift of God, how dare we abuse one another; for if we do we have somehow abused God. Without this fundamental understanding of an ultimate accountability to the Divine Source, “all things are permitted”, as Dostoyevsky also says. So we will abuse and inflict suffering and pain on one another, and will even torture those we have imprisoned and who no longer have an advocate or voice. And when there is still a rudimentary belief in human dignity left in a culture, it becomes necessary to dehumanize the prisoner before they are abused or tortured. If the prisoner is not human then it is acceptable to mistreat them. But this need to dehumanize before abuse is inflicted only illustrates the depth of the intuition in the human heart that we ought not to mistreat one another even when we can justify it.
There is only one power that is able to change the human heart and thereby change the world. That power is love. The classic word for love in action is “charity”. When charity rules the heart it will find expression in even the most difficult situations. Christ said that the two greatest acts that a human may do are to love God and to love one’s neighbor. These two injunctions have been the cornerstones for true human community for several millenniums. When they function within the human heart and thereby within human community, there is no place for torture and abuse of prisoners. The thoughts and actions toward the prisoner will be of re-formation and reconciliation. An excellent example of this is the Faith Based Program that is in place and functioning at the Palmer Correctional Facility (see the May, 2005 edition of Alaska Humanity News, at humanitynews.net). And if our enemies take advantage of our compassion and mercy, as they often do, we can show them charity all the more. Ultimately, there is no power that can stand against charity. Only love can change the human heart and thereby change the world.
Harry Davidson was born in Kodiak, raised in Southwest Alaska, and is now a business owner in Anchorage. E-mail: .