Zeitgeist: Moving Forward - Victims of Culture (Snippet)

As stated before, a resource based economy applies the cientific method to social concern and it is not limited to simply technical efficiency. It also has the consideration of human and social well-being directly and what comprises it. What good is a social system if, in the end it doesn't produce happiness and peaceful coexistence? So, it is important to point out that with the removal of the money system and the necessities of life provided, we would see a global reduction in crime by about 95% almost immediately, for there is nothing to steal, embezzle, scam, or the like. 95% of all people in prisons today are there due to some monetary related crime or drug abuse... and drug abuse is a disorder, not a crime. So what about the other 5%? the truly violent... often seeming to some as being violent for the sake of being violent. Are they just "evil" people? The reason that I frankly think it's a waste of time to engage in moral value judgements about people's violence is because it doesn't advance by one iota our understanding of either the causes or the prevention of the violent behavior. People sometimes ask if I believe in "forgiving" criminals. My answer to that is "No, I don't believe in forgiveness anymore than I believe in condemnation". It's only if we, as a society can take the same attitude of treating violence as a problem in public health and preventive medicine rather than as a moral "evil". It's only when we make that change in our own attitudes and assumptions and values that we will actually succeed in reducing the level of violence rather than stimulating it, which is what we do now. The more justice you seek, the more hurt you become, because there's no such thing as justice. There is, whatever there is out there. That's it. In other words, if people are conditioned to be racist bigots, if they are brought up in an environment that advocates that, why do you blame the person for it? They are a victim of a subculture. Therefore they have to be helped. The point is, we have to redesign the environment, that produces aberrant behavior. That's the problem. Not putting a person in jail. That's why judges, lawyers, "freedom of choice", such concepts... are dangerous, because it gives you mis-information. That the person is "bad"... or that person is a "serial killer". Serial killers are made just like soldiers become serial killers with a machine gun. They become killing machines, but nobody looks at them as murderers or assassins, because that's "natural". So we blame people. We say, "Well, this guy was a Nazi, he tortured Jews". No, he was brought up to torture Jews. Once you accept the fact that people have individual choices and they are free to make those choices... Free to make choices means without being influenced. And I can't understand that at all. All of us are influenced in all of our choices by the culture we live in, by our parents and by the values that dominate. So, we're influenced, so there can't be "free" choices. `What's the greatest country in the world?' the true answer: `I haven't been all over the world and I don't know enough about different cultures to answer that question.' I don't know anybody that speaks that way. They say 'it's the good old USA - the greatest country in the world!' There is no survey... 'Have you been to India?'... 'No'. `Have you been to England?'... 'No'. `Have you been to France?'... 'No'. `Then what do you make your assumptions on?' They can't answer that. They get mad at you. They say, 'God dammit! Who the hell are you to tell me what to think?!' You know... Don't forget: You're dealing with aberrated people. They are not responsible for the answers. They're victims of culture and that means they have been influenced by their culture.