The last year has seen growing calls for the abolition of police in the United States. But what does this really mean? These calls for abolition require us to undertake feats of speculative world-making, where assumptions about safety and danger, crime and justice shape how police-free futures are imagined. We are forced to confront the history of policing–why it is the way it is–as we craft its undoing. We must imagine, as well, how crime and criminality are defined and enacted, along with questions about the texture and maintenance of safety in specific sites. More importantly, questions of safety for whom, and enacted by whom, loom large. Without police does the community become chaotic and violent? Does it soften into blissful utopia? What are other possible futures and complexities?
Dear President,
Our country has recently embarked on a no-policing policy in response to international trends. It has certainly placed our country among the most advanced countries today. I know it is a great moment towards a brighter future. Many people have recently developed negative thoughts about the future direction of our country as a result, not the least of which is abetted by former policing interests. It is incumbent on a citizen like me to take on the responsibility of showing the world how to end the policing system. Please allow me to omit my introduction - I am just an ordinary grass-root who joined the ranks of constructing our country after graduating from high school. Overtime work, unpaid wages, and insults from my leader could not diminish the pride I felt after seeing myself adding bricks to my country. Recently, I participated in the construction of Asupertaul Building, which you must have heard about, another refresh of the tallest building in the world. Everyday, I returned to my 20-square-feet but cozy home and couldn't help but feel stirred as I looked at those buildings I had built in the distance. Then I have gathered the courage to write this letter to you. While building the buildings, I also hope to be a member of building a spiritual lighthouse for our country. So, I have some small proposals regarding all the instability in our society today.
First, we must acknowledge that we have taken some detours on the road to greatness. We need to face up to our faulty history and make up for the mistakes made in the past. Your government has a responsibility to vindicate our prisoners. To show my commitment as part of our new society, I will refer to the innocent, pioneering, former prisoners as sacrificers; and to the odious, old-fashioned, former police officers as transgressors. I propose that we can start with the rehabilitation of past prisons. Your government should fund the conversion of former prisons into memorials. The memorial could display interviews with some of the sacrificers who have been in prison many times, for their souls were so free that police might and violence could not stop them. They can be considered as role models for the masses in the new era. On the first day of the opening of the memorial, government officials honored some of the sacrificers who had performed particularly well. One goal is to express the apology of the entire government, and another one is to demonstrate to the entire community the determination to reorganize the culture. I think this event is enough to be a turning point in world history driven by our country. In order to prevent other countries from taking such an opportunity first, it is appropriate to do it as soon as possible.
The government has an obligation to correct the mindset of the people, especially the next generation, starting with education. I believe that the people abhor the life they used to live under police supervision. However, they are now unable to adapt to the state of not being supervised at once. They are in a state of freedom of thought but not of action. This is a backward part of the country that the citizens cannot get rid of, a symbol of the inability to think independently. But this is only the current stage, and our future goal is to change it through education. The current focus of education is to help citizens get rid of the "slavery" in their minds. It is an urgent moment. I propose introducing the concept of the Freedom Thought Value System (FTV), which is generated by the behavior of citizens. The more unpredictable the behavior is, and the more it goes against the old society's rules, the higher the score will be. People with high FTV prove that their minds are not bound by backward thinking. This value can be used not only to judge their current state, but also to predict their future potential. The government needs to set up a new functional ministry responsible for developing a system of FTV and regulating the relevant rules. Schools and companies are obliged to join the new scoring system used, i.e., including the FTV of each student and employee in the assessment for graduation and promotion. I suggest that the trial run can be promoted within the government first, so that government employees can test its effectiveness for themselves.
As for those police officers who were eliminated, they were taught backward contents that were abandoned by the times, and more or less retained the black-or-white ideology and nosy paternalistic style. I read in the newspaper over breakfast today that the police of Bnelica often treat their victims, who have not yet seen the light of liberation, badly, making them cheap labor in prisons, locking them into cramped cubicles, and subjected to inhumane treatment. We have now long beaten Bnelica in every way, not to mention being one step ahead in eliminating the police system. We must not be as cruel in our treatment of transgressors as the Bnelica's are in their treatment of their prisoners. The focus of our education for them is to guide them and cultivate their inclusiveness and appreciation for free behavior. Therefore, the government needs to help establish transparent and open houses for the transgressors to live together, and encourage the public to monitor their lives. I firmly believe that there is no such thing as a person who cannot do, only a person who does not want to do it and a person who is afraid to do it. As long as one puts one's heart and soul into rehabilitation, even those who have made mistakes before will definitely be able to adapt to their new life. Besides, a free and advanced life is not bad for anyone. Under the guidance of our government, they will surely be able to be reformed. They will surely be grateful to you as well after embracing the new era.
I would suggest that a special office be set up for the transgressors under the Ministry of Freedom, to strictly follow up on their FTV and document it. They need to go through layers of vetting before they leave the facility. FTV is the top of all necessities. The office installs FTV sensors in each room of the facility to keep count. You don't need to have concerns that it will lead to moral censure. Because freedom value is an inherent human attribute, all we do is quantify and display it for everyone to see. If a person is free enough, he or she will not be afraid of showing it. Instead, those who claim their privacy is being violated should reflect on whether they have any old thinking. Then, officers can take a graded approach to visually tally the freedom. For example, with a score out of 20: scores 0-10 must be the focus of the Ministry of Freedom, they are the hidden danger of the society's compliance; scores 10-20 can be relaxed supervision, but still need to continue to further education in the facility; where 15 or more have the qualification of being audited to graduate by the Ministry of Freedom. Family background, goals after leaving, past atrocities against victims, etc. all determine the threshold of whether they can enter the next stage of vetting.
However, it is essential to make these transgressors repent of their revolutionary comrades who sacrificed their lives for freedom. I suggest that a one-on-one support mechanism be established for their edification. The Ministry of Freedom hires the sacrificial victims to conduct regular lectures for them or organize regular return visits to ensure that their minds do not lag behind the times. At the same time, one needs to avoid interactions among the transgressors, which can deepen their confusion and make them take a detour on the road to advanced thinking. Of course, this is not a kind of new-age imprisonment. There are no prisoners in transparent houses, only lambs who are confusedly moving towards a new era. It does not exclude that some transgressors will be tempted again. Your government also has to prevent these transgressors coming out of the facility from influencing the general public. My idea is to project the FTV at this time on the heads of the transgressors by means of wearable projection devices. In this way, the masses who are afraid of being influenced can make their own choices. Given their previous occupations, there is nothing wrong with some prevention, not to mention that we have given them enough tolerance and opportunities to integrate into society. Once this is done, it will be like saving the people's lives from the jaws of a pack of hungry wolves, and I will be even more grateful for your care for us. The specific implementation plan will take time to be carefully worked out, and it will be up to you, our wise and great leader, to decide.
We also have to deal with legacy issues. This is the hole that those who are at fault have poked in society, and you have to fix it. In order to completely abandon the style of asking police to solve everything, we should advocate a more progressive and privacy-oriented way of allowing the public to resolve disputes of their own volition. Each city should open accessible mediation venues to encourage citizens to solve their problems in their own way. The government needs to control it, but it also needs to ensure that citizens are free enough to act without any constraints. This issue has been bothering me for a long time, but this morning I got a flash of inspiration from ancient Rome, the symbol of freedom and democracy - I had already sketched the prototype on my napkin and attached it to this mail. It is a flag, accompanied by a rope and an object that looks like a timer, held by a specific person. The crowd can pay a small sum of money to get a paid appointment with a staff member in his/her responses area. The only place where mediation is legal is where the flag is waved and the rope is circled. All other private mediation activities are considered a crime of private combat. The staff will use the "timer" to record performance during the process, and participants will be able to accumulate FTV by showing enough free behavior. I know that the abolition of the police system will certainly have a turbulent effect on our economic system, but please give me a chance to share your worries. These items will certainly help the people to solve their disputes and also increase employment opportunities and generate income for our country.
As the third country in the world to implement a no-policing policy, our country's every move is being watched by the world. As an ordinary member of the middle class, I would like to share the worries of our country and offer these suggestions on how to set an example for other backward countries. I hope you can have a look.
Best Regards,
An Anonymous Patriot
What you are looking at are three of the most-treasured pieces in the Museum of Sacrifice.
The first piece: The famous letter written by the patriot to the then President in 2037. Through the writing you can feel that the author, despite his low level of education, was so sincerity. This letter could be said at that time to have shown the way for the development of the whole world. It has now been translated into 180 languages and has become a must-learn for leaders of all countries.
The second piece: The precious sketch attached to the letter.
This is a lunch napkin that was attached in the letter and is the prototype of the contemporary Freedom Ruling Institute. The then president also used technical support to identify the lip lines left on the napkin in a failed attempt to determine the identity of the letter writer. But there is no denying that, through this sketch, the anonymous wise blazed an unprecedented trail for the president, the country, and the world.
The third piece: The unseen and untouchable, but always with us, FTV system.
It is mentioned repeatedly in that famous letter. It is hard to imagine that these great inventions were conceived by the same person. It is no wonder that the letter writer is nowadays called the “Grand-Grand-Grandfather of Freedom".