First Step

My first step in making the world a better place would be to create more jobs for ex-cons.  And I would want to do this through a food business of some sort and make the appeal of the restaurant that it was offering ex-cons a new opportunity to improve their lives and get back on their feet.  Although this isn’t one of the world’s biggest problems, I do think that this is a good opportunity to help change the community of ex-cons and the way that our society perceives them.  I think that most times cons usually end up doing another crime because they can’t find anywhere that will hire them or they just fall into the same pattern that got them into jail in the first place.  This business could also bring in the different skills of everyone by having them be either cooks or waiters or the accountants or managers.  Of course, there would still have to be a few people within the business who aren’t ex-cons, just to be sure to monitor the new ex-cons when they enter the business, but a majority of the jobs would be for the ex-cons.  This could start in one state and then expand to other states as well if it went well. 

I think that this business idea really relates to the quote from The Blue Sweater because all men really are created equally and we shouldn’t let one decision affect the rest of our lives.  Of course, there are some crimes, such as murder, that shouldn’t be forgiven, but there are other smaller ones where the cons should be given another chance.  Sometimes it’s just the situation that forces someone to do something crazy and if this is the case, then we should help these people to get back on their feet and reset their lives.  There would have to be some sort of filtering process because there wouldn’t be enough jobs for everyone and also everyone might not have the right intentions for getting this job.  This business would want to hire ex-cons who want to make a change in their life and do better than they were doing before, not just ex-cons who need a job to meet a requirement.

Although this may seem like it’s not addressing one of the bigger issues that our society is facing or that there are other people who need help more than ex-cons, but this involves something that I am really passionate about.  It is one of my big dreams to have my own restaurant or bakery in the far, far future and I think that by hiring ex-cons, it would be a way to give back to society and also make it safer.  If you think about it, if there were a business that would willingly hire ex-cons, then ex-cons probably wouldn’t feel the need to try to lie about their history or be uncomfortable about their past.  Also, if the restaurant or business were to market itself as an opportunity for ex-cons to restart their lives, although customers might be nervous at first, once it became more established, more customers would start supporting the idea and the concept.  Also, this idea could be spread around the world and help people everywhere re-start their lives.