Recently, the Iowa Supreme Court made a decision that prevented thousands of ex-offenders from voting. Iowa is one of the few states that blocks ex-offenders from voting, with no regard as to what the crime was. Historically, laws such as these were created to block the larger black population from voting, but what place do they have now?
While in theory it makes sense that someone who doesn't obey the law shouldn't have a say in the laws that are created, but that thinking is backwards. If you serve time for a law that you don't agree with, shouldn't you have the right to have a voice in changing it?
Just because something is legal, doesn't make it ethical, and it certainly doesn't make it right. Many spend their lives protesting these laws and often getting arrested because of it. At some point slavery was legal, as were a million other laws that aren't right. Laws that aren't right still exist today, and being arrested because of it shouldn't change your right to vote - your right to change unjust laws. Shouldn't ex-offenders at least have a say in changing the laws they don't agree with? I'd like to believe so.
The problem with laws like these is that they tell us that people are incapable and unworthy of being redeemed. That's saying that a mistake should define how they live their lives forever. The justice system is broken and our criminal system even more. We can't keep being so self-righteous in thinking that ex-offenders don't deserve a chance. Have you ever broken a law? Chances are you have. You've smoked weed, you drank underage, you didn't wear your seat belt once, you stole a candy bar from Walmart. You have probably done something, because you are a human, and you aren't perfect. What if that one mistake took away your right to vote for good? An ex-offender could be anyone. Changing these systems will take time, and they may not change at all, but what can change is public opinion.
As a society, maybe it's time for us to not let our worst actions define us. We already give this benefit to celebrities. We forgive them for their DUI's, for their murders, for their drug abuse, but we don't reward average citizens the same treatment.
We are not perfect people. We are humans, we are flawed and we make mistakes. So why do we still treat people, who have served their time, as if they are still criminals? People can be redeemed, if we let them. People can change, and even people who have committed the worst deeds can become the members of society who create the biggest difference. Just watch this Ted Talk of how one man turned his worst deed around to create a better life for himself and those around him.
I firmly believe that everyone can change and become a better person throughout their lifetime. When we force people to remain criminals in our minds, we prevent them from making major contributions to society, contributions we may actually need. After someone has served time for their mistakes, we can't keep punishing them -- all that does is perpetuate more crime. At the end of the day, criminals are just people who made a mistake. One day, we could even be one of those people. So let's stop treating our ex-offenders like they're still criminals and start treating them like people. We'll never know if someone can be redeemed if we don't even give them the chance to try.
