thoughts on the news of the day: compassion

hmmm…..

                The news today is that nursing homes in California are now taking convicted felons as residents.  I guess in a way that makes sense.  If a prisoner is incapacitated and the prison can’t handle his or her care, then why wouldn’t it be prudent to place them in a facility designed to give that care?

                Well, there are a few problems with that scenario.  First of all, how incapacitated are they really?  Are they still able to do physical harm to someone else?  Are they still able to plot and plan with criminals on the outside to do damage to others?  And what about the other residences of the facility, do they have a right to know that convicted felons live in the next room?

                I am reading a book right now that focuses on the aging population.  Most folks who live in nursing homes are 65+  so challenges and problems with care of the elderly is a non-trivial issue.  Did you know that we spend about as much on Medicare each year as we do at Wal-Mart?  I can’t wrap my head around either of those figures, but they are enormous.   So, we can’t pretend that housing criminals in the same place we care for the aged is not important because it is.

                Which brings me to this point:  In the end, we all need compassion.  Whether we are being punished for our sins, punished for our age, or punished for something else, we deserve the same compassion that Jesus gave to criminals, prostitutes, and tax collectors.  We are created with the gift of compassion, and it is criminal not to use it.

                hmmm…..