I recently read part five of Wayward Puritans by Kai T. Erickson. In part five Erickson not only explains Puritans ideas of deviancy but also links it directly to current U.S. ideology.

Puritans believed that once a person was revealed as deviant through their behavior (committing a crime) that they should be forever viewed as a deviant person. The Puritans believed that a person wasn't just committing a crime but also displaying their true colors as a born deviant.

This immediately made me think of California's intensely harsh "3 Strikes" law. For any who are not familiar with proposition 184, please let me illuminate. Prop 184 was passed in March of 1994 and states that a mandatory life sentence in prison must be handed down to any person convicted of 3 felonies with no consideration to the circumstances or environment. California was the second state to pass this 3 strikes policy and many states have since adopted the same policy but California is notorious for having the harshest enforcement of this policy. This seems to be a perfect illustration of the Puritan ideal of "deviance for life".

Another way U.S. institutions enforce this "deviance for life" message is in the treatment of people who have previously been committed of a felony. Once you have a felony on your record it is almost impossible to be hired, you cannot vote and you are constantly harassed by law enforcement officers. Once the courts have classified you as a deviant person you are shut out of social function and survival for life, much like the Puritan practice of banishment.

Erickson states that the Puritans have been judged harshly by history and viewed as vicious, cold, rigid and vindictive people but it is clear that little has changed. So the question I ask is; What makes us much better than the Puritans? How will history judge us? And finally, if we have such a clear example on what is now considered "horrific" practices why are we so bent on following in the same footsteps?