The world is fascinated by the current trial of confessed mass-murderer Anders Breivik, whose actions in Norway touched off an explosion of emotions almost as violent as the bomb Breivik detonated in Oslo, killing eight, and the 69 young people he gunned down on the small island of Utoya. Americans, like many in the rest of civilized society, wonder why any person would brag about doing something like this in the name of patriotism.
But what about us? Have we looked at our own reactions to this confessed murderer, who regards his actions as worthy of a medal and motivated by a brave feeling of nationalism? In calling Breivik a lunatic, have we examined our own logical thinking in regard to this madman?
I've read at least thirty articles on Breivik and the letters attached to them. Almost invariably, they call for the most violent forms of revenge, ranging from a simple bullet to the head to burning at the stake, decapitation or skinning alive. Yet, despite a reduction in the percentage of Americans who consider themselves Christian, about 75-80% still do. This means they follow a leader who told them to love their enemies, turn the other cheek and do good to them that persecute them. This indicates either only non-Christians wrote those letters or that 75-80% of the population are kidding themselves.
Some folks have indicated that only in a country like Norway with its socialist government and its "lenient" prison policy (21-year maximum jail time, no death penalty and hotel-like prison cells), could a person like Anders Breivik thrive. Well, we have the highest prison population rate in the world, we're one of only three major countries with the death penalty and some of our prisons have been closed due to filthy conditions and we still could come up with Timothy McVeigh, who managed to kill 168 people in Oklahoma City in 1995. In addition, those hotel-like cells seem to do a good job keeping people in Norway from visiting them again. Only 20% of Norway's jailbirds come back - as opposed to 60% of ours. To say nothing of our comparative crime rates.
In other words, it's just possible that we're missing the boat while we observe the trial of Anders Breivik. Maybe we should accept the fact that every country can have its nut cases and try working on finding a system that functions better than ours does now. I'm not suggesting that Norway's system could work here - only that there must be a better way than leading the world in punishment while trailing most of it in rehabilitation and prevention.
Or is that socialism?