We know that any penal system "should" have as its goal, reform and rehabilitation and the transformation of a prisoner into a positively productive and contributing member of society. We know this is what success looks like in a penal system, which is why we at least pay lip service to the notion.

Unfortunately this is where our penal systems mostly fail. They are putative (punishment oriented) and tend to assume that punishment is effective negative reinforcement that will prevent the person from repeating the offense. Unfortunately all it tends to do is produce shame and self-loathing while not getting at the root causes of dysfunctional and self-defeating behaviors.

The concept of hell as generally pushed by Christianity is an example of this putative notion taken to the ultimate conclusion: it is infinite punishment for finite offenses (setting aside whether they are real or concocted offenses). Hell is a fantasy prison that society would like to consign everyone to who does not conform and obey.

Faving to watch later. Thanks for sharing.