Andrew Peyton Thomas explains why crime bills aimed at reforming the police, the courts, and the prisons address only the symptoms of the crime problem. He illuminates the hidden causes of crime and separates the real from the imagined, including the family, religion, schools, elites, poverty, our violent culture, race and racism, guns, drugs, and gangs. His devastating critique exposes the real roots of the chaos - the American people who have let ultra-left liberals and ultra-right conservative libertarians impose a false philosophy in which the emphasis on individual liberty threatens life and makes dangerous the pursuit of happiness. The result is a Hobbesian war of all against all that has hamstrung the police, the courts, and the prisons, while destroying the most fundamental right: personal security. Thomas lashes out at the false prophets - the social scientists, special interest groups, and politicians who blame deviant behavior on conditions, not individuals, and who have diminished the values formerly reinforced by family, school, and religion. Confronted with violent crime in a society threatened by a youthful generation of amoral predators, Thomas sounds an urgent wake-up call, warning us to take action or prepare for a future devoid of social compacts, true communities, or a Leviathan able to maintain order. His apocalyptic scenarios seem unavoidable unless we take seriously his suggestions for a change of course. Only then can we hope to halt the sacking of America by its criminal barbarians. The real debate begins here on what must be done to make America safe once more.
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