I have always been fascinated about the satisfaction Americans seem to get from throwing people in prison. Here in the alleged beacon of democracy and freedom, more than 2 million people are imprisoned at any given time. That makes us No. 1 in imprisoning our people — even China, with four times the population, doesn’t put as many folks behind bars as we do.

Yet within three years, according to the Commission on Safety and Abuse in American Prisons, 67 percent of former prisoners will be rearrested and 52 percent will be re-incarcerated…meaning we’ve got a whole class of professional prisoners. And that class affects culture — if you’ve ever been inside a jail or prison, you immediately recognize the parallel between prison jumpsuits and the baggy clothes that have been part of youth culture for a while now.

Eventually, someone may realize that we’ve reached the point of diminishing returns here. I don’t think that we’re there yet, though…it’s just so lusciously easy for politicians to demagogue this issue that it’s going to be up to the public to ask questions before things will change. But the bottom line is this: It’s hard to argue that you’re the beacon of freedom when you’re willing to take it away from so many people.