This article was first published in the Idaho Observer. Reprinted with permission from Randal Steen.
Randal R. Steen, 48, was a union journeyman millwright by trade. He is the father of four children and four grandchildren. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison for a non-violent drug offense. The greatest tragedy of Steen’s story is that he did not actually sell, use, or produce illegal drugs. He went to prison for refusing to cooperate with the prosecution of his son. Steen was a father willing to sacrifice himself to save his son, who was the guilty party. Prosecutors were all-to-willing to charge Steen, since high conviction numbers are their priority, and because appearing to fight ‘The War on Drugs’ is great fodder for political campaigns. Justice is not a part of the judicial equation in such cases, and ‘The War on Drugs’ is too often used to mask a war against the Bill of Rights. For example, the search warrant which supposedly granted the police permission to begin their search was issued 2 days after his arrest, and we’ll let that speak for itself. The fact that both a judge, and a jury, were apparently okay with all of this sadly testifies about what has befallen our liberties and the inheritance of the Founding Fathers.
When I was sent to prison, the judge mentioned just the length of my sentence. Had he included the entire scope of my punishment, he may have said it differently:
“Mr. Steen, I sentence you to take responsibility for every social ill — past, present and future. Each time America runs out of foreign enemies, it apparently turns on itself to find more. By way of media, politics and indifference, people who break the law, good law or bad, become those enemies and are then responsible for every social malady. Whether this is logical, you are the culprit.
“You are sentenced to live in a maladaptive, alien environment that defies description. You’ll be stripped of your work skills, your self worth and your humanity while at the same time face the daily threat of assault, rape, false accusations and unjustified punishment. You will live like this for the next 15 years. If you manage to reenter society as a productive person, some will say prison was just what you needed. If not, others will say ‘I told you so’.
“Because of counterproductive prison policies, you are sentenced to live in a world of cruelty and indifference that perpetuates the very behavior it purports to alleviate. If you share this with those outside of the prison system, you will be called a liar, most won’t believe that $millions are spent on the proliferation of facilities that perpetuate harm, not repair it.
“You are sentenced to consume $150,000 to $600,000 in taxpayer dollars for your prison stay. While lawmakers cite the ever growing cost of incarceration as a public necessity, you will learn that 10% of that amount goes towards your daily needs, while the other 90% pays for a bloated prison bureaucracy immune from any cost benefit analysis. These tax dollars will be siphoned from school programs, child care, and job training — all of which do make communities healthy and safe and save $millions in the process. Despite the media frenzy that portrays society seething with crime, you’ll learn that relatively few prisoners represent a danger to our communities. We’re mad at most felons: not scared of them. So, you’ll wonder why the majority of prisoners aren’t on home arrest, a logical move that would save millions of dollars and obviate the need for more prisons.
“Practical education programs, universally proven to drastically reduce recidivism, will be almost nonexistent. In fact, you will be disciplined for possessing more than 10 books. Therefore, you will live in an environment where recidivism is tacitly encouraged — a fact not lost on those who want to run prisons for a profit.
“It is true that there are some counseling programs in prison and some people will benefit from them. Yet, if you attempt to describe the futility of a therapeutic environment placed within an atmosphere of people with dehumanizing policies, you will be told that your intentions are distorted and without merit.
“You are sentenced to bear the wrath of a misinformed society. While you’re experiencing everything I just said, you will be told how easy you have it. The media will find your Christmas meal more newsworthy than the damage caused by lawmakers who jostle for the next ‘get tough’ policy at the expense of society’s well being. Your privilege to have this once-a-year meal will be presented as so outrageous, a debate will ensue over which ‘luxury’ to take away next. Politicians will focus on violent sociopaths and pronounce their horrific crimes as a yard slide to measure the innate danger and incorrigibility of all lawbreakers, including you.
“Finally, as perhaps the most perverse component of your sentence, I hereby prohibit society from ever listening to you. Your comments on crime and punishment will be ignored. You, as well as others, will see the big picture, but few will care about the politics of crime and its role in our growing prison population. You will know that most prisoners are guilty of breaking the law, but only a few need to be separated from society. You will know that it is the reporting and sensationalism of crime that has skyrocketed; not crime itself.
“Unfortunately, though, you will one day return to society with firsthand knowledge of our prison system. Few will care. Most see only the door leading into prison — not the one leading out.
“Therefore, if your opinion ever gets printed in a newspaper, you will not only be perceived as just another lawbreaker unable to accept the consequences of his actions, but of being manipulative as well. Society will know this to be so because you broke the law.
“You are hereby sentenced to be a messenger whose message will be forever perceived as tainted, self serving and disingenuous; regardless of veracity and accuracy.
“No one will believe you. You have been sentenced to be a criminal.”
If I were still a practicing ob-gyn and one of my patients said she was not going to vaccinate her child, I might try to persuade her to change her mind. But, if I were unsuccessful, I would respect her decision. I certainly would not lobby the government to pass a law mandating that children be vaccinated even if the children’s parents object. Sadly, the recent panic over the outbreak of measles has led many Americans, including some self-styled libertarians, to call for giving government new powers to force all children to be vaccinated.
Those who are willing to make an “exception” to the principle that parents should make health care decisions for their children should ask themselves when in history has a “limited” infringement on individual liberty stayed limited. By ceding the principle that individuals have the right to make their own health care decisions, supporters of mandatory vaccines are opening the door for future infringements on health freedom.
If government can mandate that children receive vaccines, then why shouldn’t the government mandate that adults receive certain types of vaccines? And if it is the law that individuals must be vaccinated, then why shouldn’t police officers be empowered to physically force resisters to receive a vaccine? If the fear of infections from the unvaccinated justifies mandatory vaccine laws, then why shouldn’t police offices fine or arrest people who don’t wash their hands or cover their noses or mouths when they cough or sneeze in public? Why not force people to eat right and take vitamins in order to lower their risk of contracting an infectious disease? These proposals may seem outlandish, but they are no different in principle from the proposal that government force children to be vaccinated.
By giving vaccine companies a captive market, mandates encourage these companies to use their political influence to expand the amount of vaccine mandates. An example of how vaccine mandates may have led politics to override sound science is from my home state of Texas. In 2007, the then-Texas governor signed an executive order forcing eleven and twelve year old girls to receive the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine, even though most young girls are not at risk of HPV. The Texas legislature passed legislation undoing the order following a massive public outcry, fueled by revelations that the governor’s former chief of staff was a top lobbyist for the company that manufactured the HPV vaccine.
The same principles that protect the right to refuse vaccines also protect the right of individuals to refuse to associate with the unvaccinated. Private property owners have the right to forbid those who reject vaccines from entering their property. This right extends to private businesses concerned that unvaccinated individuals could pose a risk to their employees and customers. Consistent application of the principles of private property, freedom of association, and individual responsibility is the best way to address concerns that those who refuse vaccines could infect others with disease.
Giving the government the power to override parental decisions regarding vaccines will inevitably lead to further restrictions on liberties. After all, if government can override parental or personal health care decisions, then what area of our lives is off-limits to government interference? Concerns about infection from the unvaccinated can be addressed by consistent application of the principles of private property and freedom of association. Instead of justifying new government intrusion into our lives, the vaccine debate provides more evidence of the need to restore respect for private property and individual liberty.
Any woman suffering from domestic abuse must contend with enormous difficulties in escaping an abusive relationship. These difficulties are even more daunting for Orthodox women. Until Bat Melech was established, battered Orthodox women had nowhere to turn to for help.
For a number of reasons, Orthodox women in abusive relationships do not take advantage of the social services provided for abused women. First, they fear the stigma associated generally with welfare services in the Orthodox community. Second, they distrust non-religious authorities; the Orthodox community generally does not look kindly on members who seek outside help for domestic problems.
Many Orthodox women fear that admitting openly that their husbands beat them will negatively impact the religious community’s perception of their families.
Bat Melech is the only organization in Israel to respond to this urgent need by providing apartments that serve as shelters for abused Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox women.
Today, Bat Melech runs a network of shelters and safe havens that provide social, financial, emotional, and legal assistance to women and their children, who are victims of domestic violence.
Painting of the Vilna Gaon from Yesodei Hatorah School corridor wall
Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna – The Vilna Gaon – Leader of Lithuanian Jewry, Torah scholar and kabbalist. Born: Vilna, Lithuania, 1720 Died: 19 Tishrei Vilna, Lithuania,1797
Popularly referred to as the Vilna Gaon, the Gra (initials of Gaon Rabbi Eliyahu), or simply as the Gaon. Considered to be the greatest Torah scholar of the past two centuries.
Even as a child Eliyahu of Vilna amazed the congregation when, at the age of 7, he delivered a learned discourse in the Great Synagogue in Vilna. By 10 years of age he had surpassed all his teachers, and, studying by himself with total concentration, he acquired knowledge of the vastness of Torah in both its revealed and mystical aspects. Every minute of his life was devoted to Torah study. He never slept more than two hours in a 24-hour period; he never accepted any rabbinic post or leadership of a yeshivah. He taught few disciples, selected from the foremost Torah scholars of his time. He also mastered astronomy, mathematics and music.
Known for fierce opposition to Chassidut, which was initiated in 1736 by the Baal Shem Tov, he and his followers in this anti-Chassidic Movement were known as “Mitnagdim,” or opponents. Their opposition was based on the beliefs, vigorously denied by Chassidic leaders, that Chassidut took liberties with the Oral Law, that it substituted emotion for intellect in the Study of Torah, that its form of prayer departed too far from the traditional form of prayer, etc.
The Vilna Gaon cleared a new path to Talmud study, focusing on gaining a clear understanding through keen analysis of the principals and approaches of the early authorities. His methodology stood in sharp contrast to the pilpul system of the Polish yeshivahs, an intricate system of creating a complex framework with which a series of questions would be answered. He toiled hard on emending the the talmudic and midrashic texts. Subsequent discoveries of ancient manuscripts confirmed the soundness of his corrections, which appear in the Vilna edition of the Talmud [Haga’ot Hagra].
His works which were recorded and published by his disciples, include Aderet Eliyahu, a commentary on the Torah; a commentary on Ecclesiastes; Shenot Eliyahu, a commentary on the Mishna, Order of Zeraim; Biur Hagra, a commentary on Shulchan Aruch; a commentary on Sefer Yetzirah, a kabbalistic work; and many other works.
His commentary on the Torah is filled with interesting allusions that show the oneness of the Written Torah and the Oral Law, demonstrating their common source in Divine revelation.
The Vilna Gaon was revered in Vilna and throughout the world for his phenomenal knowledge and saintly character. One of his most outstanding disciples was Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, the founder of the yeshivah of Volozhin. Following the Gaon’s approach to learning, this institution spread Torah for more than a 100 years. Today most yeshivas follow the study pattern of Volozhin, keeping alive the approach to Torah pioneered by the great Vilna Gaon.
Update date: 5/22/2016, 00:23 We are told that only in the End of Days will evil yield so much power over the world. It’s a reassuring confirmation that we are, in fact, on the threshold of the arrival of Moshiach.
As the awaited day draws near, the battle for emuna intensifies. People who dedicate their life to Hashem aren’t called role models, they are branded fanatic. Those who dedicate their time to learning Torah aren’t seen for what they are: providing the world with its livelihood. It’s the opposite.
The development of the Land of Israel isn’t seen as the greatest miracle of the modern age. It is seen as an “outdated” form of “colonialism.” The rebuilding of the Third Temple isn’t perceived as the fulfillment of mankind, but rather than the repression of Muslim rights.
As a result we stopped shouting from the rooftops, on social media, or in the press that our national mission, given to us by the King of the Universe, is the full development of the Land, and the rebuilding of the Temple.
Such demands are restricted to our private prayers.
Don’t let the world intimidate you anymore. We should be bold in demanding the Third Temple. We all must be resolute in demanding the restoration of the Jewish Monarchy, and the entire Land of Israel.
Even as the world accuses us of being theocratic, bloodthirsty, warlike, and primitive, we need to remind them, as well as ourselves, that it was this very Jewish Monarchy which transmitted the very concept of humanity to mankind. This concept enabled civilization to spring forth economic and technical advancement that has lengthened and prospered the lives of almost every human on earth.
But let’s entertain the world’s foolishness for a second. Let’s answer them on their level of banality. What will happen to the Israeli Arabs, and the Palestinians once we complete our conquest of the Land of Israel, restore our monarchy, and rebuild the Holy Temple in Jerusalem?
Rabbi Lazer Brody gives us the answers:
Will the Arabs be allowed to remain in the Land of Israel once the Temple is rebuilt or do we throw them out?
If they accept the Seven Noahide mitzvoth, they can live in peace and security with us.
Does this mean they enjoy full civil liberties?
Yes, as stipulated throughout Halacha as the “Ger Toshav” status. However, according to Rabbi Yossi’s opinion in the Gemara, non-Jews will not be able to own land because the Land will belong to the tribes. But they will be able to rent.
Will they also be protected by the law?
Yes. Especially under Moshiach. The laws that govern man will apply to all of us.
Will they be slaves or second class citizens? Will they have to pay more taxes because they aren’t Jews?
Again, they are protected under the law. They can earn salaries as hired workers just like everybody else. As for taxes, they will pay less taxes than Jews. They will not be required to give the tithes that Jews are required to give Kohanim, Levi’im, and to maintain our Holy Third Temple.
* * *
Never let them convince you that what Hashem desires is inhumane or unjust. A Torah-based regime in Israel will treat every citizen with more dignity, more opportunity, and more human rights than any other regime the world has ever known.
It’s something we should be proud of.
Today’s world give us a sneak preview: Over the past 70 years – for every 1 Arab who died at the hands of a Jew throughout the Middle East, over 100 Arabs lost their life at the hands of their fellow Muslims.
Since the liberation of Judea, Shomron, the Golan, and Jerusalem, Palestinian life expectancy, real income, and general standard of living has skyrocketed. Israeli Arabs fare better than their counterparts in most of the Arab world. Does anybody want to ask the Druze up north about how happy they are to be in Israel, and not in Syria right now?
As millions of Arabs are running to Europe, None of the Arabs of Israel are leaving.
Already non-Jews do well under Israeli sovereignty. This is proof that under Moshiach, things will get even better.
We should scream to the world that we want this to happen. The key is not to be afraid.
