A Point of Light Brings Hope

I read a lot!!  I read books when I find the time to sit and enjoy them.  I read for work, for daily necessity and I read to stay informed.  These days I find myself reading about politics and issues related to my family and our situation.  I care and I want to change things and to do that I must learn all there is to know.  Part of my daily routine is to read all the relevant articles about sex offenders.  Articles about their management, recidivism, restrictions, and hope for the future when common sense wins out.  What, do you not think there is hope for the future?  Oh but there is.

Take a look on any given day to the headlines that continue to falsely scare the public of the evil of all of those labeled as sex offenders.  Read the articles about how politicians are protecting us and saving our children by passing legislation that says sex offenders can not live near us.  Watch the eleven o'clock news highlights about the sex offender, who committed his crimes 15 years ago, served his time and has been crime free since, but now he wants to live three doors away from a church with a day care center.  Make sure you listen and learn that his crime was not even against a child but someone is in a uproar over where he wants to live.  Turn on your radio and hear about the group of high school students who will now be labeled as sex offenders all their lives because one of them sent "bad" photos to the others.

Now, after you have listened to the media on how horrible all these sex offenders are, and how dangerous it is to have them living among us, take a breath, clear your head and look for the hope.  Take the time to sit back and start reading the comments.  A greater percentage of the comments are in support of common sense thinking.  The true facts and statistics come out in the comments from the general public (not the media).   The reason these restriction and laws don't make sense is spelled out to share for those looking to be enlightened.  Now there is still the occasional draconian comment to kill or castrate them all but they are becoming the exception rather than the rule.  This recent entry for Grits for Breakfast is a great example http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2015/04/texas-voices-standing-against-sex.html.

Is it because people are educating themselves about the high costs of government and  how funds could be better spent?  Is is because the general population is suddenly concerned about the welfare of those labeled sex offenders?  Or is is because as another day passes, more and more people are being personally affected by these laws and restrictions?  As the sex offender population grows so does the size of their advocacy groups.  More wives, mothers, sisters, brothers, fathers and children suddenly have skin in the game.  They now care. 

I don't really care why the tide seems to be turning, I just feel that it is.  Eventually the media and politicians will have no choice but to start listening.  What is now a quiet whisper will someday be a deafening roar.  So there is hope for change, you just need to look for it hidden within the dark.