Sydney C.

Letter to our Future President

A few changes that can drastically improve America.

Dear Future President, America is, in my opinion, one of the best countries in the world, but there are some things that need to change. Some of the things that need to change include, the treatment of prisoners by guards and gun laws. Many of these things could be greatly improved by a few tweaks to existing laws.

Prisons exist in every state in America so the care of their inhabitants should be heavily regulated. In most prisons, the inmates are treated with utter disrespect by those who are employed, not only to watch them with a close eye, but keep them safe. Prisoners are subject to physical, sexual, and emotional abuse as a result of misuse of power by prison guards. There have been reports of guards kicking, beating, and beating criminals just because they are in a superior position. Guards have also bribed or forced inmates into giving them sexual favors, yet pleas from the victims are usually brushed off in the eyes of the law. Prison is home to many terrible people, but it is also home to many great people who have just done terrible things. Either way, they are all human beings who deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, even if they are serving time. Instituting and enforcing regulations for how prisoners are to be treated is, I feel, a necessity to ensure that brutality in prisons is reduced.

Another pressing issue in America is guns. Guns seem to play an increasing role in many deaths across America. While I do believe that guns don’t kill people, people kill people, I do think there should be stricter policies regarding them. For example, I have seen a video on social media of a thirteen-year-old boy walking into a gun show and purchasing a gun. No one asked for identification or anything of that sort. That is absolutely absurd. When purchasing a gun, a background check should be done and one should be required to provide identification and some sort of form that clears their mental health. Mental health is another factor in why there is so much gun violence in America. Those who suffer from mental illness have easy accessibility to guns, and with that accessibility, they can do great damage. I hope, as president, you will help provide safety to this country by making it much harder to own a weapon that can, and has, been a marker for death and destruction.

With a few additional laws, the treatment of inmates in the U.S. could be greatly improved, and the easy access to guns could be greatly reduced. This country, I feel, is the best country in the world so we should act as such by being humane to our citizens, whether they be criminals or not, and keeping the country safer from gun violence while still keeping the second amendment intact.

Sincerely, Syndey