Orikinla- Many thanks. Please feel free to spread these thoughts to anyone you want to, including your local paper. The main problem there is that they often limit op-ed or reader letters to a certain number of words, which as you can see is not upper most in my essays. I like the ability to get all the thoughts out without having to edit for space. Send people to Common Sense, put up a Common Sense button on your site, print out a bumper sticker (both links are on the right column) and help spread the word that Common Sense is not dead.

Hope to hear from you again.

Windspike- I almost titled this post Zero Tolerance for Zero Tolerance, but settled on an homage to Bizarro instead. And your second thought is indeed salient here.

Settling for middle ground only plants the seeds of failure. THere are plenty of people who willreach middle ground and peak on their own abilities, but to make middle ground the high point is to keep all others from reaching their potential.

Similarly, punishing all offenses the same reduces the effectiveness of all punishments. If the penalty for throwing a pencil at another student is suspension and the penalty for punching another student in the face is also suspension, why not go for broke? (no pun intended.)

Zero Tolerance is a failed theory in that it doesn’t prevent or reduce through constructive efforts, only reacts to a problem that has gotten out of control. Blanket Zero Tolerance is zero Common Sense.

Gerat comments as always.

My first thought about your post resonated in a philosophical way. Can we have Zero Tolerance for Zero Tolerance?

My second thought was an old saying, but nonetheless salient for this discourse here: “There is nothing more unequal than the equal treatment of unequals.”

This statment is not a justification for negative discrimination, but pushes us to think beyond PC terms and ask the question, what should we do, for example, in schools that mandate the curriculum and testing that pushes to mediocrity rather than excellence among and between individuals?

When blanket policy decisions are made and laws put on the books that force individual discretion out of the equation, yes, you do get uniformity and remove subjectivity. But, then you get isomorphism – a gravitation toward the middle. And if middle is really the goal, a community settles for mediocraty not excellence we see the ramifications permeate all of society.

Society should set the bar higher.

You should publish it in the newspapers.

Jolly- As always, good of you to chime in. I can agree with mandatory sentencing for the most heinous crimes (murder, rape, torture) but agree that there should be more discretion among judges and their cases.

And our abysmal prison demographics have more to do with ridiculous laws, like the war on drugs, than with keeping the country crime free. I’ve talked a bit about legal reform early in this blog-with posts between 1-18-05 and 2-3-05, if you’d care to take a look.

Angel- Yes, it has gone too far. It’s high time to throw these silly rules out and throw out any of their adherents as well. What happened to using one’s brains? Glad you left a thought.

Rudicus- You bring up some points I’d not thought about. Naturally, these nonsense zero tolerance policies can be used as tools for discrimination or just to get rid of so-called undesirables. But what is this? The feudal system?

And yes, the society of law suit mania does encourage a zero tolerance mentality, coupled with a blameless society.

Absolutism may work fine in a box with few if any fluctuating parameters, but in the real world, very little is black and white, except of course, black and white.

Think for yourselves folks, and suddenly zero tolerance policies become unnecessary. Great comments, Rudicus.

KWW- Yes, and subjugation too! As for the Rove issue, as with any “concrete” policy, Zero Tolerance isn’t applied consistently, which is another reason for it to go.
Glad you dropped by.

Jessica- Thanks for the great compliment.

I think the Rove analogy was meant as an example of the hypocrisy of policies like Zero Tolerance and the political parties exemplify the attitude with their divisive tactics. But as you say, maybe that’s another post.

Our world is going topsy-turvy these days, and lies and upside down policies are just more fuel on the fire. Until average citizens join hands and say “Enough” we will continue to lose more and more of our autonomy.

Hope to hear from you again.

Web_Loafer- Glad to hear that the cop used some Common Sense. Also, glad you dodn’t get dinged too badly. Speed limits are perfect examples of “soft” zero tolerance policies. How often have you seen a police cruiser speeding down the road, NOT headed for an emergency? Sporadic enforcement lends to the view of a corrupt bureaucracy, an unfair system, causing more to try to break the rule. Some rules are in place for reasons of control or renumeration, and not for public safety.

I think that freeway speed limits should follow The Basic Rule and be more flexible depending on factors like weather and trafic flow. I speed…we all do from time to time. It’s a matter of knowing what the roads can handle and what you can handle too.

Thanks for the great compliment. Hope to hear from you again.

Pol Pie- I’ve already advocated the legalization of drugs in an essay on 2-8 called “Ending the War on Drugs.” Check it out.

My main problem with the libertarian movement is their over reliance on capitalism as a solution to everything. But I am in line with their attitudes about freedom and limited government.

Thanks for the comment.

Research the Libertarian reform movement, it is interesting.

Now to the topic at hand, zero tolerance never works. Life is not black and white, there are many gray areas. Zero tolerance never works. In our public schools, Zero tolerance is in fact a way for school administrators to avoid having to make actual decisions, which involve THOUGHT and LOGIC. I nthe case of the airport security, don’t get me started. I have zero respect for those yahoos. When they start profiling instead of targeting old ladies in wheelchairs and mothers of six small children, then we’ll talk.

Go Ken, you rock, you are my voice of reason!!!

Jess

The school incidents should be decided by educators who have some knowledge of children and viewed in relation to the circumstances. It should be left to the judgement of the staff not carved in granite somewhere else entirely.

If we insist on zero tolerance why is Karl Rove still employed by the president? His lies have endangered people and caused harm. How about zero tolerance for treason? That would make more sense than a plastic knife in a lunch bag or an inhaler.

Absolutism which is also what is causing so many problems in religion has spilled over into the world – so all our policies are one size fits all black and white policies. Eventhe Pope has said that relativism is the greatest threat to the world.

I say it is just the opposite. Absolutism is easier, but it is rarely appropriate and leads to wholescale societal challenges.

When you approach everything from the middle or the lowest common denominator all you end up doing is wedging out everyone on either end, which then leads to extremism and disaffection.

Nowhere can absolutism vs. relativism been seen in greater light than the 2004 presdidential election. Bush is an absolutist, kerry is a relativist. Absolutists make easy to digest comments and have a fixed unflexible answer for everything. Relativists handle each issue differently and change as the information changes – to absolutists, that’s known as flip flopping.

Look no further than Iraq for an illustration of what happens when you try to apply absolutism – you get a quagmire of unrealism.

So remember, next time someone asks you what to do, be a relativist and say “it depends”

Zero Tolerance is for people who can’t be bothered to think.