COLUMN: What I’m thankful for
Given the controversial nature of some of my articles, you might think I receive a torrent of angry e-mails. But I don’t-much to my dismay, frankly. Of the few complaints I do hear, this is the most common: “Why are you so negative in your articles? Why so pessimistic?”
Well, in an effort to be more positive, I thought about what I had to be thankful for over Thanksgiving break. The usual came to mind: family, friends, life, etc. But upon further reflection, I also discovered that not everything in the news was all gloom and doom.
First, I’m thankful I am on the chunkier side.
“A startling new study by medical researchers at the American Medical Association has caused consternation among public health professionals by suggesting that, contrary to conventional wisdom, being overweight might actually be beneficial for health,” reported The Independent. On balance, the study found that being slightly overweight increases one’s longevity. The study is the culmination of decades of data and analysis by a reputable team of federal researchers; it cannot easily be dismissed.
I’m thankful health care has risen to prominence as a domestic issue. This summer, Michael Moore adeptly exposed the failings of the U.S. health care system in his film “Sicko” (Rent it if you haven’t seen it yet). Presidential hopeful John Edwards, too, deserves a lot of credit for making health care the single most important domestic issue this campaign season. He was the first candidate to unveil a comprehensive and truly universal health care plan, forcing Clinton and Obama to follow his lead.
I’m thankful Hillary, the once “inevitable nominee” must now fight for the Democratic nomination. Both Obama and Edwards have stepped up their attacks on her, and it’s taking its toll. Hillary has slipped in the national polls and is bogged down in a statistical tie with Obama and Edwards in the early primary states. But no matter who is nominated, I’m simply thankful Americans will elect a Democrat next November.
I’m thankful for senators Jim Webb, Byron Dorgan and Jack Reed. Hoping to pre-empt President Bush from making controversial recess appointments, these Senate Democrats decided they would stay in session over the Thanksgiving break to prevent the president from installing several disputed officials to important executive positions in “recess appointments.” These senators forfeited precious time with their families to keep this reckless administration in check; they deserve our thanks.
I’m thankful for people’s capacity for compassion. A young boy and his mother were driving in a remote area just north of the border on a Thanksgiving trip. The mother lost control on a curve and the van was tossed into a canyon, landing 300 feet from the road.
She didn’t survive the crash, but her son was found alive by Jesus Manuel Cordova as he was entering the U.S. illegally. He stayed with and comforted the boy for many hours until help arrived. And as the temperatures dropped, Cordova gave him his jacket and built a bonfire. As thanks, the authorities arrested Cordova and are planning his deportation.
I’m thankful Australia’s conservative Prime Minister John Howard suffered a humiliating defeat at the ballot box last week. Howard and his party’s political demise comes as a blow to the Bush administration as Howard’s government was a loyal ally in the war in Iraq and shared Bush’s reluctance to combat climate change. The opposing leader, Kevin Rudd of the Labor Party, won in a surprising landslide on the promises to withdraw Australian troops from Iraq and ratify the Kyoto Protocol.
I’m thankful for last week’s stem-cell research breakthrough. Scientists from Japan and the U.S. independently confirmed last week that they had successfully manipulated adult stem cells to imitate embryonic stem cells. This advancement might eliminate the need for destroying human embryos to obtain embryonic stem cells, which would neutralize many peoples’ moral objections to the research.
And lastly, I’m thankful the death toll in Iraq, for both Iraqis and U.S. soldiers, has fallen in the past few months-from horrific to horrible. My father leaves for a year-long tour in Iraq early next year, so I’m hoping this trend continues.
The war’s supporters have claimed this news as vindication of the troop surge, but the surge’s impact was only marginal. Deaths are down primarily because Iraqi neighborhoods have already been ethnically cleansed of rival tribes and sects. Moreover, these neighborhoods are being patrolled, not by U.S. soldiers, but sectarian militias. Whatever the cause of this relative and fragile calm, it is encouraging, nonetheless.
The above news strengthens my faith in basic human decency and buoys my optimism for the future. That isn’t to say, though, that we do not face very real challenges. So let’s not ignore them in the name of being “positive.” Instead, we need to tackle these challenges so that come next Thanksgiving, we’ll have even more to be thankful for.