Much is made about being gung-ho on crime and punishing “the bad guys,” but it’s not so black and white. The actual truth is that people are “abused as children and then punished as adults.” It’s the truth, not some softy talk.
However, it seems like some people don’t believe people were abused to the point where what they do doesn’t warrant harsh punishment. Nonetheless, I can see where people are coming from. Some people are “abused so much that it is beyond repair, but, yes, they were abused.” The situation is really sad and it’s tough on society to figure a solution to people who seem to have no conscience.
Anyway, at a lower level, I believe a lot of society destruction comes even from people who aren’t full-blown psychopaths. A society with any sort of parental dysfunction is automatically a worse society. Simply put, kids need good role models and loving discipline from two parents or even one parent, and if the latter, a strong support system to make up for the lost parent.