Guantanamo Bay - A suggested plan for closing the facility and for deposition of the facility and the land.
By Rev. John L. Colburn

First, clear and detonate all ordnance on the premises.  Second, redeem, reclaim, and rehabilitate the premises.  The beaches should be cleared, cleaned so that people can swim, sun bathe and hike along the beaches.  Perhaps erect a pier from which people can fish.  Third, the existing buildings, facilities should be reduced but not totally obliterated.  A skeleton structure should remain to show what went on there: both good and/or bad.  This would be an effort for transparency in all our history.  Fourth, no ordnance, guns or knives should be allowed on the premises.  Guantanamo Bay should never be allowed to become a naval or any other kind of military base or prison or place of incarceration. 
 
Guantanamo Bay should be offered to the United Nations as an International Park for rest and recreation only (for everybody in the world).  No casinos, large buildings, hotels, inns would be allowed for 15 years.  Cuba would be given legal jurisdiction over Guantanamo Bay but with the stipulations already given including no weapons on or with the police.  Cuba certainly should be allowed to build or encourage building casinos, hotels, inns on the perimeters of Guantanamo Bay.  Anyone who violates these stipulations shall be removed from the premises and not allowed to return there.

This is my recommendation as a citizen of the United States of America.  I was born in California in 1922.  I was reared in Huntington Beach and Long Beach, graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School, Long Beach, CA in 1941.  I served in the U.S. Marines Corp during World War II.  I graduated from UCLA in 1951 and from Yale University Divinity School in 1955.  I served churches in Ohio and California.  I am retired and have lived in the same home in Los Angeles for 50 years.  I am putting this down to establish that I am a native born citizen, not a fly-by-night nut case.  I am an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ for 54 years.  I have been married to my wife Carol for 61 years.  We have five children, six grandchildren and one great grandchild.  That's why I think I deserve attention and recognition and perhaps implementation of a better idea, hence this essay on Guantanamo Bay.

Self Pity and Self Righteousness
by Rev. John L. Colburn

Sometimes I find myself attracted to two polarities, self pity and/or self righteousness.  Self pity, woe is me! I am a person of unclean lips caught in a country of people with unclean lips.  Folks don't like me!  Folks don't appreciate what I've been through.  I never get a chance to give my side to anything.  I feel abused and misused.  If others only knew what I know, they'd understand.  There's no way out of my dilema.  What can I do?

"Spit in your shoe and say it's half past two."  That's one thing you can do.  We can go on a self-pitying binge for some time.  We can wallow in our self pity monologue for substantial amounts of time, but finally all of this accomplishes nothing positive, creative or helpful to ourselves or others.  But it does give a sense of compfort, perverted injustice for a moment or two.

Self righteousness is its own reward.  I'm right in my attitude and right about my factsin almost all my decisions.  Therefore I exult in being right nearly everytime I make a decision.  Results and outcomes support my rightness.  Too bad that others do not follow my lead, but make other choices and so suffer unanticipated consequences when they could have, should have seen them and made better choices.  When you are so right so much of the time, it's hard to be compasionate or understanding to those who keep making unneccessary errors.

Are there folks in our Bible who express self pity and self righteousness?  They abound.  David the giant killer is a classic for both polarities.  The prophets are repleat with both self pity and self righteousness.  The disciples manifest both in their ministries.

Our political and celebrity folks show off people with both self pity and self righteousness.  It's easy to list them and to document their activities.

The best check on these interlopers, self piy and self righteousness is for you and me to look in the mirror and ask,  Do I qualify for a blue ribbon for my bouts of self pity?  Could I win an award for my signature self righteousness now?