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Show The Salt Lake Tribune OPINION AAS Sunday, April 16, 2000 There Is Similarity Between the Confederate Flag andthe U.S.Flag BY KIRK MILLSON lost thatfight, and to many today the Con- POR THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE federate flag is a reviled symbol of racism. ‘Two flags, two diverse legacies. But are they really so different? Clearly they are for Jesse Jackson, who has tried to organize boycotts in the states thatfly the rebel flag in some form attheir statehouses. The same for those protesters in South Carolina, who see racism in any attempt to res- Once upona time, a general carried the cue the bannerfrom history’s sewer. . is a revered symbol of freedom — rather than the oppression it must have symboldzed for the hundreds of thousands of - Slaves in the United States at the time, including those on the Washington's own ~ plantation. Four score and five years later, another * general, the son ofRevolutionary War hero Light Horse Harry Lee, carried the new Mag of his slaveholding nation in a rebel* lion against a government that soon would ‘ abolish the slave trade. Gen. Robert E. Lee But to millions of Southerners, the Stars and Bars evokes the same pride they hold for Old Glory and the revolutionaries of 1776. To them, the rebel flag represents that ragtag army of underdogs that held a bigger, better-equipped juggernaut at bay for four years.“Whatthis bootless, ragged, half-starved army accomplished is one of the miracles of history” marveled British Gen.J.F.C. Fuller. They are proud of Lee’s audacious offensive into Unionterritory, and prouder Federal Death Tax Kills Family Farms and Wildlife still of his refusal to burn Northern cities or farms. While Lee considered it immoral It is slavery, that has given Jackson license to demonize the Confederate flag. Butis it reasonable to believe that slavery motivated hundred of thousands of men to follow that banner to their deaths, when 75 their memory and insulting to their de- scendants. What's worse,it validates that vocal minority of Ku Klux Klan losers and percent of them never owned a slave? other extremist yahoos who have co-opted Certainly Lee, who was offered leadership of the Union forces before assuming command of the South, had loftier reasons the Stars and Bars for their hateful movements.It's them we see on television, not the thoughtful gatherings of Civil War historians for whom the flag projects no racist message. And so the march, seeing only black and white in that red and blue Union and the feeling of loyalty and duty as an American citizen, I have not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand square of cloth. They point so insistently at the stains left by slavery, but are those really any uglier than the ones borne by Old Gloryfor U.S. atrocities against American against my relatives, my children, my home,” Lee wrote after resigning from the US. army. “] shall return to my native Policy Analysis, the estate tax raised just 1.3 percent oftotal federal revenues forfiscal year 1998. A report on the deathtax bythe Joint Economic Committee found that “the tax produces no benefits that would justify the large social and economiccosts,” and “the estate BYCLAYJ. LANDRYand J. BISHOP GREWELL state and share the miseries of my people, and save in defense will draw mysword on none.” The decision to fight was forced upon him when Union forces marched south. To reduce the flag for which so many died to a racist symbol is demeaning to to wage war on civilians, we know from symbolof freedom is not withoutits warts. The Confederate flag will never be free of the ugly scars ofslavery, but neither will it ever be as leprous as it appears through the ee Two flags, two diverse legacies. But maybe not so different after all. Kirk Millson, “whosefamily has farmed the same Virginia landfor 250 years, had ancestors in both the Civil War and the American Revolution. He can be reached by email at Kmillson@SLTRIB.com. Legislators Had Chanceto Aid, requires But Failed Lenny Ray Cornia BY E. FULLER TORREY and MARY ZDANOWICZ tax raises very little, if any, net With Tax Day and Earth Day nota week apart, we thoughtit appropriate to look at how onetax is slowly slaying Mother Nature's critters. It seemsfitting that the federal estate tax is also known as the “death tax.” This final audit from = the Internal Revenue Service — _ levied once we are in the grave — “can also be the death knell for “countless farms, ranches, ~ businesses, and perhaps surprisingly, free-roaming wildlife. Nearly 75 percentofall wildlife and half of all endangered species _ in the United States live on private lands, more often than not agricultural lands. Farmers and ranchers ‘not only provide the food on our tables, but they also offer up the ~ open spaces and forage areas that wildlife need. The federal estate tax, however, threatens to close down these landowners and the habitat they provide. The tax is levied when property worth more than $650,000 is passed from one ‘ generation to the next after the ~owners’ death. While this sounds like a large inheritance, one must rememberthat the unexpected incomeis often not in the form of a liquid asset that can be used to pay the government bill with relative ‘ease. Ratherit is in the form of a business or small farm. Because of this, the tax often ends up toppling the family farm or small business. The National Federation of Independent Business attributes 90 “percent of small business failure ‘after the death of the founder to - inheritance taxes, Charles Kruse “of the American Farm Bureau * Federation notes that the tax is particularly vicious in the agricultural sector. According to Kruse, children are often forced to sell off parts of the family farm to developers in order to pay the federal taxes. These farms are frequently inan awkward position commonto agriculture:“dirt rich” but “dollar rn” Martha Clarkknowsthis factall to well. In 1981, Mrs. Clark’s father-in-law died, leaving her the family farm in Maryland, just south of Washington, D.C. The estate came with a hefty death tax and the Clarks were forced to sell 250 acres of their land to subdividers in orderto payit. With family farms struggling to stay alive, fragmenting the land to pay the taxes can be the death knell. As Martha Clark putit, “If you had a warehouse and yousold off one cornerofit to keep the rest, would your warehouse still work?” Whenfarmslike the Clarks are forced to sell off land in strips, the property becomes increasingly fragmented. Fences are erected and roads are built. Wildlife, in turn,find migration corridors cut off and their foraging grounds destroyed by the new development. According to Michael Bean of the Environmental Defense Fund, “Federal estate tax requirements are destroying some of the largest and most important endangered species habitats in private ownership.” Considering the revenue for the federal government.”In short, the funds taken in from thetax barely cover the costs of assessing it. Whilebenefits of the tax are dubiousatbest, the costs are clear — unnecessary burdens on family farms andthewildlife they harbor. _ People are startingto realize this. ArecentZogby Poll showedthat 86 percent of Americans think the death tax is unfair. Despite the overwhelming support by both the general public and Congress to eliminate the tax, the White House vetoed a 1999 tax cut that would have completely phased it out. The life of the death tax may well be in the hands of the next president. Governor Bush wants it killed immediately, while Vice President Gore wants to breathenewlife into it. Gore supports a convoluted plan of tax deductions that entices landowners to surrender part of their hard-earned estate to the government in the name of conservation. ‘Tnedeath tax issue will grow as we head into the next century. Boston College researchers estimate that a wealth transfer of between $41trillion and $136 trillion from the older generation to the youngerwill occur between now and 2055. If the United States maintainsits estate tax, the second highestrate in the world, you can bet more people and wildlife will feel the sting. destructive consequences ofthe estate tax on wildlife and small businesses, surely it must offer somebenefits. However, according to Bruce Bartlett of the National Center for Clay J. Landry and J. Bishop Grewell are research associates with the Political Economy Research Center (PERC) in Bozeman, Montana. ‘One Last Chance to Givethe Gift of Life BY LAWRENCE LIEBLING ‘THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE The week ofApril 17 begins Do. nor Awareness Week. For anyone _ whose family has gone through an organ transplant,it’s a time to be ~ grateful. For those whoawaitsuch a procedure,it’s a time to hope thatthe «zest of the country becomes more ‘aware of the thousands who wait Sor adonorevery day. bg It has been 25 years since I domated a kidney to mysister. She <iwas diagnosed with acute nephritis at the age of 14. For four dis: heartening years, her condition } slowly deteriorated. Eventually she lost her kidney function completely. At age 18, a transplant became her only hope. I was asked, along with myparents, to undergo genetic testing. The hope was that one of us would match mysister’s tissue and blood type. If any ofus did, a transplant could be attempted. As it turned out, at age 21, I was told that I was a “perfect match.” The transplant took place on Jan. 31, 1974 and was a success. the transplant, there were complicated medical realities as well as emotional difficulties to navigate. Soon, however, my sister was healthy again. She went to college, received her doctorate in psychology, opened her own practice, and faced the challenges that life presents us all. For 22 years, she lived with dignity and grace until three years ago when shedied ofcancer. Death carried my sister away from us. Since that time, I've come to ap{ preciate the opportunity I had to be » able to help provide my sister with $22 additional years. Circum{ stances gave me a chance to step forward and share my life in a unique way. After I thought aboutit for several days, I became somewhat melancholy. I realized that this phenomenon is a reminder that the need for organs is not being met. The majority of people who need organs won't have a family memberor a generousfriend to come to their rescue. These people have only one hope,whichis the unselfish kindness of families who find themselves mourning the imminentdeparture ofa loved one. Throughout our lives, we are presented with many opportunities to share ourselves with others. Amazingly, even in death-in our final act-we have onelast chance to give. Ina simpletwistoffate, even in death, we can offer the most precious of all gifts — life. Right now, thousands of people are clinging, hoping, grasping for someone to transcendthesilence of death and give it meaning by donating an organ. By this heroic act, we can participate in life long after we are gone from this world. Make no mistake — deciding to donate this way is courageous and should not be minimized. Our natural aversion fuels fears that need to be overcome in order to become an organ donor. But, in calming our concerns please con- sider. this. If, God forbid, we were so desperatelyill that we needed an organ transplant, how manyof us would refuse? Not many! So ifwe are willing to receive in our hour of need, shouldn’t weat the time of our death be willing to give? It is in this spirit that we should search our hearts and consider signing donorcards andtelling our loved ones ofour intentions. Then, if the time comes that the opportunity is before us,our gift of live can be received. Then, even'our death has meaning beyond our other achievements in life. We all contemplate our own mortality; when we do, organ donation should be an importantelement weighed. How wedietells a lot about how welived. Prostatitis can make a man’slife pretty uncomfortable. . . over and over again, Do you have recurrent symptomsof: Urgent and frequent urination? Burning with urination? Lower back,inner thigh or genital pain? Weare seeing volunteers for a prostatitis research study, You may be eligible to take part. All study-related care is provided at no charge to qualified participants. Call Monday-Friday for more information. j sually or not at all. ; t dangerous- received it this year. But, changing Lenny Ray Cornia, who was shotto death in his home Saturday after allegedly lunging at police vulnerable citizens feel the cold snap of handcuffs than the caring armsof a well-trained psychiatric with a kitchen knife, should not have been condemned toa life of psychotic torment nor should he havedied at the handsofan officer ill prepared to deal with his mental illness. Cornia was thevictim ofan insidious brain disease that was team. Whatis particularly egregious about Cornia’s case is that Utah’s Legislature had the opportunity in aggravated by weak mental illness treatment laws. People with un- with SB 200. Legislators never treated severe mental illnesses are society’s castaways left to fend for themselves in heavy psychosis on our city streets and in our jails. Whilethe story of Lenny Cornia is not unique, it is tragic and com- pletely preventable. Incidents like this are seen with increasing frequency around the country and have been aptly dubbed suicide by cop in which individuals with mentalillness bait police intokilling them, fulfilling their death wish. This is not surprising since the mentallyill are 10 to 15 times more likely to commit suicide than the general public. Due to inadequate treatment laws, cops have been forced into the untenable position of street-corner psychiatrist, and more often than not our most February to protect the state's mentally ill from the dire conse- quences ofuntreated brain disease voted on SB 200 because they were not willing to fund servicesfor the mentally ill. This is most surprising given that last year Utahans witnessed firsthand one of the most devastating consequences of nontreatment when Sergei Babarin and Lisa Duy, whoalso suffered from untreated mental illness, shot and killed innocentvictims. Those tragedies were caused by Utah’s outdated law that requires a person be imminently dangerous before medical care is provided, even if that individual has refused treatment in thefirst place. In other words, nothing could be done to help Sergei and Lisa until it was too late and they had their fingers on thetriggers of the law would not have been enough. There mustalso be a fiscal commitment to provide the medi- cation and services that will keep these individuals well and prevent them from falling victim to the revolving consequences of untreated mental illness: homelessness, suicide, incarceration orviolence. In the end, changing the law and investing in services would have saved money wasted on preventable, costly hospitalizations and the jailing of individuals who are forced to spiral to the depths of their illness. Utah’s Legislature should be ashamed ofthe wayitfailed Lenny Cornia and his family. Stronger treatment laws would prevent individuals like Cornia, Babarin and Duy from becoming so dangerously ill that they are driven to take theirlives or the lives of others. How many more preventable tragedies must Utahans bear before lawmakersrealize that being psychotic is mindless and deadly? E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., is president, and Mary T. Zdanowicz,J.D., their guns. Utah is oneof only a handful of states around the country that is executive director of the Treatment Advocacy Center. What's In Your Easter Basket Noone gives you more local anytime minutes and included features at $39.99 a month Lawrence Liebling is the author of the newly published book, The Most Precious Gift. Prostatitis 8 (801) 325-1000 imminent ness. None of Utah’s six neighboring states have such a require ment. It is estimated that the change in Utah’s law would have ensured that 100 individuals who are most in need of treatmentfor severe mental illness would have Saas TOP -MRA a INC, .com mz ee eS BF 420 €. 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