For the past few days I have been spending time with the ladies at Fort Augusta, however, it has not been business as usual.  There are a group of young ladies ranging from ages 13 to17 years old that should be in school. Their crimes are everything from theft, extortion, wounding, felony wounding to murder. In speaking with these ladies you realize very quickly that they don't think they belong in prison. They blame their mothers, fathers, guardians, the police, the lawyer or the judge for their current situation. Not one has acknowledged:

 "I have stabbed someone. This is my punishment and I deserve to be here for what I have done." 

But what I find more dangerous is the way these young ladies think and speak. Most of them think that their current experience is the worst thing that has ever happened. But rather than been repentant or motivated to avoid repeating these acts, they are getting more and more angry each day and some have gone as far as to say they feel themselves becoming monsters. To me that is scary. 

 I look at these  ladies and I realize that they have so much potential but when you listen to their stories it breaks your heart. You begin to see the realities we are faced with.  If we continue to see things as business as usual, one day we are going to wake up and wonder "what the hell is going on and how did we end up like this?" In fact,  many of us are saying this now. But really, how did we end up like this? 


When I speak to these young ladies at Fort Augusta the reality hits me and hits me hard. We are creating monsters in our society and then we turn around and blame them for being monsters. Today, we blame the youth for their condition but think of the role models that they have. Often times we point fingers at the youth and the parents in the ghetto but it is more than them. It is all of us. We are all in some way responsible for the current breakdown in morals and values in our society and therefore we should all make the sacrifice to fix it.  And it will indeed be a sacrifice.