The United Police States of America: the Criminalization of Everyday Life in the USA

For Democrats and Republicans there is no problem that can't be solved by empowering agents of government – whether they be police, prosecutors, politicians, inspectors, garden variety bureaucrats etc. – to wield disproportionate force against the people of the United States under the color of law. If war is politics carried out by other means, and politics is war carried out by other means, then the Democratic and Republican parties are undoubtedly engaged in an asymmetrical war against the people of the United States, and they have been for some time. No matter which of the ruling parties finds itself in the majority, constitutional rights, liberties and the rule of law are trampled and eroded with equal zeal and without compunction.

In a series of reports entitled "Rough Justice in America," those anti-government extremists at The Economist detail the effects the Democratic-Republican police state has had on the people of the United States over the last thirty years, noting that "never before in the civilized world have so many people been locked up for so little," and bluntly stating that "America locks up too many people, some for acts that should not even be criminal." The Heritage Foundation has come up with a clever euphemism for this state of affairs: they call it "overcriminalization." From Overcriminalized:

“Overcriminalization” describes the trend in America – and particularly in Congress – to use the criminal law to “solve” every problem, punish every mistake (instead of making proper use of civil penalties), and coerce Americans into conforming their behavior to satisfy social engineering objectives. Criminal law is supposed to be used to redress only that conduct which society thinks deserving of the greatest punishment and moral sanction.

But as a result of rampant overcriminalization, trivial conduct is now often punished as a crime. Many criminal laws make it possible for the government to convict a person even if he acted without criminal intent (i.e., mens rea). Sentences have skyrocketed, particularly at the federal level.

Like most Americans you probably commit at least three felonies a day in the course of your everyday life, not to mention infractions of the myriad local and state laws to be found in every corner of the union. The Democratic and Republican parties, with the help of their deluded supporters, are literally turning this country into a police state and prison colony. Of course, not all Americans are subject to the laws of crime and punishment. Few, however, are lucky enough to be accorded the deference shown to members of the ruling criminal class.