Goodbye Officer Krupke

There is a movement afoot to defund the police. Activist actress Jane Fonda is on board, as is Steve Carrell and a host of other Hollywood celebrities. When I first heard about this idea I scoffed, thinking it would just make our world less safe. But after further deliberation, and an extensive education from my 32-year-old son who is wise in such matters, I'm thinking it's the answer to many of society's problems, police brutality being very high on the list.

It's not like there would be no authorities to call upon in times of distress, it's just that it might be a social worker, therapist, community organizer or mediator who would arrive on the scene unarmed, equal in stature to everyone else and lacking the power to make things worse. Just for a moment, consider the many dead-for-no-reason African Americans -- and of course people of other races too -- who would still be with us today, living out their fruitful lives had it not been for the violent intervention of an armed police officer. It boggles the mind.