This story touched my heart. I am an agnostic and practice Buddhism as a way of life in the secular sense, not as a religion. I am very involved in prison reform and was so happy to read this article about treating prisoners as the human beings they are. I believe our errors in judgment (which frequently are brought about by factors far beyond our control) are not who we are. When given the chance to be responsible "citizens" of the prison, where all were equal, these men flourished. Shmuel was a very wise young man. My husband's Hebrew name is Shmuel and I am looking forward to sharing this story with him!
ORIGINAL COMMENT
This story touched my heart. I am an agnostic and practice Buddhism as a way of life in the secular sense, not as a religion. I am very involved in prison reform and was so happy to read this article about treating prisoners as the human beings they are. I believe our errors in judgment (which frequently are brought about by factors far beyond our control) are not who we are. When given the chance to be responsible "citizens" of the prison, where all were equal, these men flourished. Shmuel was a very wise young man. My husband's Hebrew name is Shmuel and I am looking forward to sharing this story with him!