Your Tax Dollars at Work

Your Tax Dollars at Work: $328 million of them, to be exact, although that's probably an estimate.

I have always been a supporter of space exploration, believing that in addition to all the science reaped about our place in space, it has also yielded great inventions that have helped us in our quest for greater modern conveniences.

Yet I am still convinced that as long as we are looking for the secrets of the universe by blowing holes in comets, I'd love to see tax dollars spent on exploring the nature of death. A whole bunch of near-death experiencers believe from their out-of-body travels that there is no death and that the universe is much grander than we ever thought.

Now then, about that search for weapons of mass destruction. The war in Iraq is running at about $148 billion. (That figure would finance 450 missions to blow up comets, by the way.)

President Bush told ABC's Barbara Walters that it was "absolutely” worth it to invade Iraq. No Regrets.

In counterpoint there’s Kenneth Ring and his near-death experience research. Maybe this research isn’t as exciting as blowing up comets in deep space or invading countries to depose evil tyrants, but I think it’s worth a few million to see if we really, truly die.

One reason I think that is that we sent a bunch of Americans to Iraq because the President thought it was “absolutely" worth it. Many didn’t come back. Wouldn’t it be a nice gesture if our tax dollars at work funded a research project that might prove that these brave deceased soldiers still existed?

Research into death might also put a different spin on terrorism than the one sold to us day in and day out through the media. Wasn’t the threat of terrorism the reason we went after Sadam Hussein and his stash of weapons of mass destruction? Weren’t we all (through our public support) terrified of the terrorists and wanting to use our military might to obliterate them? Wouldn’t it change things if we determined that there is a continuity of life beyond so-called death?

To me it makes sense: let’s come to understand the nature of death so we know what we’re doing when we decide to kill people.

And then blow up a few comets…