We are the greatest country on earth. We have the most freedom (debatable), the best quality of healthcare (if you can afford it), and the largest prison system in the world. At least that's something, right? I may come off as anti-patriotic, but I assure you I'm not. But I would like to consider myself critical of the country we live in. After all, I have been given the freedom to do so, and I am grateful for that right. But if we are going to tout ourselves as the best nation on the planet, we should also be able to critique ourselves as well, no?

So let's explore why we have so many people in jail, because it certainly isn't because we have the largest population in the world. Currently, the United States is the world's leading jailer with five percent of the world's population and 25 percent of the world's prison population. 

Since the 1980s, we have adopted what are known as tough on crime laws. Most people believe that these laws, which include longer prison terms, three-strike policies, and mandatory sentencing, are thought to be the best way to combat and prevent crime. Since these laws were enacted, U.S. prisons have mainly been filled with non-violent criminals. But, at least according to our laws, they are still criminals.

Some other factoids may help provide a better picture of the U.S. prison population: 40 percent of the prison population is non-Hispanic blacks, although they make up 13.6 percent of the American population. Hispanics make up another 20 percent share of the prison population and 16 percent of the total American population. White Americans, make up slightly less than 40 percent of the prison population, but also make up approximately 73 percent America's population.

This is not an article about race, although it is important to note significant discrepancies in incarceration when it comes to racial background. We must realize that as a nation, we jail African Americans at six times the rate of white Americans. If trends continue, one in three African Americans will spend time in jail at some point in their lives. Many of the aforementioned incarcerations rates, of African Americans and Hispanics, are due to illegal drugs. The facts are that that five times as many white Americans use drugs as compared to black Americans, however, black Americans are sent to prison for drug-related offenses 10 times more than white people. What is even more shocking, is that African Americans serve as much time for drug-related offenses (58.7 months) as white Americans do for violent offenses (61.7 months). 

With these being the facts, we must look at the factors that cause such variation in racial incarceration rates. Many times, it comes down to the situation in which minorities, especially black Americans grow up in. Many blacks who end up in jail grow up in poor neighborhoods, that continuously disenfranchise youth. Eventually, kids seek other means to get out of their neighborhoods, only to find that the legal system only leaves routes of "escape" available that lead to even greater punishments and consequences. Unfortunately, this leads to a catch-22 of elusive "freedom" and perpetual incarceration.

So, why do we care? How does this affect the well-off, privileged, college student? Well, if we care about our economy and our taxes, which we all do to some selfish degree, then we should realize that our prison system costs us about $70 billion a year. Think about all the tanks and tax breaks we could afford with that money! We also spend $200 billion annually on public safety. Think about the healthcare dollars we could blow on absurdly expensive medicines with that extra cash! And what about the people who got caught smoking a blunt in their car? Think about all the lazy potheads who could work the lowly jobs we would never think of taking! 

Perhaps you see my point amidst the sarcasm. The prison system saps our own country of valuable resources and money. Many people are caught in a web with no way out. Many of those incarcerated people come from poor backgrounds only to find themselves in cells next to their friends and family. Our incarceration facilities herald themselves as rehabilitation centers. But they are not even close.

Violent and property crimes peaked in the early 1990s, almost 10 years after "tough on crime" laws were enacted. There are several hypotheses as to why crime rates began to decrease since then, but no one can quite pinpoint one significant factor. The truth is, however, that violent and property crime make up less than 20 percent of total crime in the United States. 

Our criminal justice system needs reform. We, as a nation, put far too many people in jail at the expense of our own taxpayer dollars, the potential of working citizens, and the dignity of our nation.

I would like to live in an America with less correctional facilities,  but that truly emphasize the "correctional" aspect. Many economists have hypothesized that allocating resources towards rehabilitation with offenders, would be more cost-effective to our nation. Secondly, I believe that drug offenders should not necessarily lose the ability to garner well-paying and successful jobs. Our nation is taking a more progressive stance towards drug policy, as we can see by an impending decriminalization of marijuana. Should our criminal justice system not reflect that fact, as well? As uncomfortable it is to say, the war on drugs in the United States was more a war on minorities. It perpetuated the incarceration of underprivileged populations and left them with even less opportunities to right their wrongs.

We have the power to be a nation of second chances and greater human development. But, right now, we are the nation of incarceration. The thing we truly lack in our institutions is empathy. When did we become a nation that was so cold towards its own people? When did we immediately assume the worst of our own? Why can't we be a nation of redemption instead of condemnation? 

It's time that our society moves towards ideals of forgiveness and understanding, rather than strikes and punishments. We are a people that make up the greatest nation on earth. And as the greatest nation, we must show others that we love all people, and that all people are worth being loved. When we try and love each other more than we try and expose each other, our world becomes safer. To lower incarceration rates in the United States, we must seek to help our brethren and treat them with kindness and respect. Only then, will we move on towards a kinder and more just society. Only then, will we truly become the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

Statistics are from the "Bureau of Justice Statistics" and the "NAACP Criminal Justice Fact Sheet."