Times Are Changing

by Jay Goodman

All through my life I have heard my great grandfather, my grandfather, then my mom and dad say, “times are changing.�? In the past, I never gave this much thought. But now that I am 56, I finally understand why they used to say this. Why I am aware it’s
only natural for times to change, I would assume one would think times would be changing for the better. But as I sit here in this federal prison and look back on my grandparent’s lives, then my parent’s lives, then my life, it does appear things
were changing for the better. I mean my grandparents are the industry age come to life. They see the life-saving medicine antibiotic created. My mom who had a mild case of polio saw the vaccine which done away with it in our country. A lot of great
things happen during their generations. Even my generation saw the first man go to outer space, then we saw the first man go to the moon. I have looked at the past and it seemed like our country as a whole was heading in a good direction.

The accomplishments of America are too many to even write about. In the short time our country has been around we have one world wars, and pass the whole world in almost every way. I look around me now at this new generation and it is obvious that things
are definitely changing. I try to look at everything and everybody in a good way. But the more I look at the new generation I cannot help but wonder where our country is heading. Even though I have made many mistakes in my own life, I can at least
say I have made changes that would lead me in another direction once I am released from prison. I have always said some people come to prison and change, and others come to prison to stay. It did take me a minute to see the light but eventually I
did. And since that day I’ve never looked back.

What had made me look at this new generation and wonder what is the big difference? It’s many things, especially their lack of empathy towards others. And as I studied the people around me, I’ve asked myself why they seem to be so much different than
people from the past? A lot of it has to do with their thinking. The new generation is very negative as a whole, especially towards anyone who has authority. While I was a teenager once myself and had a rebellious heart, as Time passed and I matured
I was able to let go of my teenager thinking. It was like someone telling me as a kid, someday you will grow up and like spinach. I would’ve thought they were crazy. But as time pass and I grew mentally, I understood the benefit of eating things such
as spinach. But as I look around me, a lot of the youngsters still act like kids mentally. I listen to their conversations and as a whole it seems to be focused on the same things that brought them here to begin with. I have taken a serious look at
myself and I remember when my main focus was being a criminal.

But there is a huge difference between today’s criminals than from past criminals. This may sound a bit strange to someone reading this because I’m sure a lot of people are thinking a criminal is a criminal, but only in a sense that we broke the law.
My actions and the actions of today’s criminals are as different as night and day. Why it took me a minute to take a serious look at myself eventually I did come to my senses and realize that was not the life for me. And since that day, I have done
everything in my power to change myself in every way possible. Now I have sat here and wondered why hardly any of this new generation has not come to their senses? What is so different from them then pass generations? One of the biggest changes I
believe is music. Rap music in particular. I am sure many people will say I’m crazy or he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. But this is not something I just came up with out of my head. It’s something I’ve seen over a period of decades. Just like
a mom and dad can influence their child’s thinking by the words they speak around them and to them. A good teacher is aware that what she’s teaching will have an impact on the children in her class, or maybe on what they decide to become in the future.
A young child thinking is molded from birth to adulthood. Their minds are like clay, constantly being shaped until it gets molded into its final shape of whatever it becomes. This new generation is so obsessed with what these rap stars are saying,
that a lot of them live in a fantasy world. Through my years in prison, it seems to me that most of the rap songs are based around selling drugs, using drugs, being a pimp, gangs, guns, and murder.

And let’s take a look at the video games. Grand theft auto, Mortal Kombat, just to name a few. There are many others but, in these videos, alone they are stealing cars, shooting people, shooting police, killing people. Young kids are growing up playing
these types of games all day. Then they are spending most of their time listening to the lyrics and the songs. So, like I was just saying, young people’s minds are being molded by these things, until eventually they believe that in reality it’s okay
to live this type of lifestyle. They have programmed their minds to believe that it’s okay to be a drug dealer, or a killer. In fact, they watch these rap videos and think that it’s cool to live a life of a thug. The sad part is that they don’t understand
what’s going to happen in their future.

I was in a maximum-security cell block in Houston, Texas. we were kept in our cells 23 hours a day. Almost everyone on this floor had capital murder charges. If an inmate had on a bright yellow jumpsuit everyone knows he murdered a cop. Well, one night
they put a young kid around 21 years old a few cells from me. All he did was beat on his desk and sing rap songs. Everything he wrapped about was being a big-time drug dealer, shooting people, stealing, robbery and killing. I listen to him rap for
several days until one morning they took him to court. When he came back late that afternoon, I heard him talking to someone down the range. That guy sent him to myself because he knew I understood the law. This young kid showed up at my cell and
said, “excuse me sir, can I talk to you for a minute?�? I looked at him for a moment and I could see the worry on his face. I said, “sure what’s on your mind?�? He said, “I went to court today, and they told me I was facing the death penalty if I’m
convicted.�? He handed me some paperwork from the court, as I read through it, I was amazed at the senselessness at his case. He walked into Wal-Mart and shoplifted something that was less than $50. When the security guard tried to arrest him, he pulled
out a gun and killed the guard. It was such a senseless murder. This guy would not even go to jail because of anything under $500 the police would only have written him a ticket. At worst, the security guard was an off-duty police officer who had
a wife and kids. When the police questioned him, his exact words were fuck that rent a pig. He asked me, “do you think I’ll get the death penalty?�? I said, “the only thing you can hope for is they will offer you life in prison.�? He asked me, “if I
get life, how long will I have to do?�? I said, “30 years before you can come up for parole.�? I saw the look of sorrow in his eyes. This young guy had been living in a fantasy world. Even after he was arrested, he still Didn’t realize the seriousness
of his situation. I listen to him beat on the desk and rap about being a drug dealer and murdering people. Probably for the first time in his life he realized that this was not a gangster rap video, this was real life and either way it went his life
was over.

I have heard all my life words have meaning. This is not a myth it’s a fact of life. And the young people over the last 20 to 30 years have been fed this bullshit through rap songs and video games until they are lost in a fantasy world. They don’t inspire
to do anything of meaning, even under the worst conditions as prison their only aspiration is to live a life of what they’ve been listening to in these rap songs. If something is not done about this problem, America will continue to see the effects
and I assure you it will only get worse. And as for that kid who I met at my cell door? On a hot August day in 2015, on his 30th birthday 4 guards walked him inside the death chamber where he was put to death.