In my ten years in the Boneyard I have written about most of the events of the decade--- Clinton's dalliance with Monica, embarrassing impeachment proceedings, the economic boom, the balanced budget and surplus, tax cuts for the rich, the war on the Iraqis, wiretapping without a warrant and the endless war on terror.
I was baffled by the election and re-election of George W. which severely tested my belief that democracy was the best form of government. My belief was further strained when Bush and Cheney arrogantly claimed they could do anything they wanted as long as they were "at war." Dubya's tax cuts and his borrow and spend economic policy squandered the surplus and created huge deficits.
I severely criticized our invasion of Iraq and all the lies that convinced the people that it was the right thing to do. For this, many labeled me a traitor and un-American. I survived these attacks and have been vindicated.
Now it is time to look forward. What kind of world are we entering? What kind do we want? The inspiring words of Bobby Kennedy suggest that we don't always have to choose the wrong road: "Some men see things as they are and ask why...I dream of things that never were and ask why not?"
Many of my friends who ordinarily agree with me shy away from my positions when I dream about what could and ought to be. They laugh when I say that someday there will be no more war. They say, "There will always be war because there always has been war," I argue that there are no winners in war. Both sides are devastated and when peace breaks out, they become friends and trading partners.
Instead of war, disputes between nations will be settled by a United Nations world court, much like disputes between states in our country. I see a world where every nation turns over its armaments and bombs to the U. N., keeping just enough for order at home.
No longer will a nation with the mightiest war machine dictate to weaker countries. The theory of "might makes right" will wither away. The U.N. will have the power to stop skirmishes
and determine who is right. This will help us on the way to civilization.
We could make a long list of how things ought to be, but here are just a couple. We can't call ourselves civilized when we continue to kill hundreds on death row. This is a tough issue for most people but, aside from the immorality of the state killing a person, the saving of just one innocent person is worth abolishment of the death penalty.
All guns should be banned except for police, the military, or for truly sporting purposes. Sport guns should be held for rental when needed by the sportsman. Records of rentals should be registered. This one obvious action, along with the de-criminalization of drugs, should empty out our prisons. We don't need more guns to lessen violence, murder, suicide, and the slaughter of innocents. The answer is less guns or no guns at all.
We must come to terms with income disparity. No man is worth 500 times the income of the average worker. We are creating a super class and destroying the middle class. Now the super rich want to pass along these estates to their children and grandchildren by abolishing the inheritance tax. Nothing threatens our democracy more. All income earned above the first million should be taxed at 90 percent with the money used to shore up Medicare and Social Security.
Finally, it is hypocritical to ask nations to give up their quest for nuclear weapons unless we also give up ours. If we take this action, all nuclear weapons should be controlled and dismantled by the United Nations.
We are the only nation to use an atomic bomb which leads me to a final argument which I will lose as long as military veterans are alive who were poised for the invasion of Japan in August, 1945.
These men are convinced that dropping the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and killing nearly 200,000 innocent civilians was the right thing to do because it ended the war without an invasion and saved their lives. However, historians in the future will surely agree with me that the war would have ended without an invasion and without the bombs.
By August 1945, Japan had no allies. The war in Europe ended in April. The Russians were poised to strike from the north. Japan was helpless. In negotiations prior to the bombings, they asked for one condition for surrender, that we would allow them to keep their emperor. We stubbornly refused since we had warned that there had to be "unconditional surrender" and keeping the emperor would be an unacceptable condition.
Ironically we accepted their surrender a few weeks later and they kept their emperor. And now they are a great nation and a dependable ally.
With this column I say goodbye to The Boneyard. Thanks for reading. I
appreciate your comments, both pro and con. I attempted to stir the the
passions of my readers. This, for the most part, I accomplished. I have
enjoyed writing the column even though there was no pay. I once asked
Baburnich to double my salary if he expected a column on tiime each month. He
said okay, "zero doubled is still zero."
I have published a book with all the columns I have written, called
"My Ten Years in The Boneyard." If you are interested, I will send a free
copy it you request it by E-mailing me at Jeffhays@att.net
