Perspective is key
POSTED: May 9, 2008
To the editor:
Participate, patriots! Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1877) was a famous Protestant minister in New England and one of his wise sayings, now going around the Internet, is appropriate today: “A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs – jolted by every pebble in the road.” In the midst of so much discouraging news, it is good to try to see things with a healthy perspective.
So, I chuckled at having to be fingerprinted in order to read to the residents of a nursing home, and I smiled when the fellow in line with me said there is now an armed guard at the social security office.
Harder to spin positively is the news that the U.S. is one of the few developed nations in the world that has not banned plastics containing ... chemicals that make toys soft and pliable (like rubber duckies.) Although phthalates have not been proven to be harmful, the European Union and most other developed nations have kept products with these chemicals off their shelves until more evidence is gathered and analyzed.
It does seem that we Americans tolerate high loads of chemicals in our food and drinking water. And we are slipping behind in life expectancy rates, student test scores, and public health.
Our democracy is still alive, and its wellness is within our control, but we must participate if we are to change the direction our country is going.
Even though the theme of the Bush administration has been to aid large corporations, there are many brave people who have blown the whistle when they have seen bad things happen.
Also, watchdog groups are doing their best to both inform us of problems and suggest ways to help. So, instead of gritting my teeth when I receive “junk” mail and phone calls, I rejoice that people care enough to form organizations that attempt to make the world a better place.
Big corporations now control most of our airwaves and do their best to distract us from both seeking truth and speaking truth to power, but it is still possible to get various perspectives on the news.
If you don’t have access to the PBS, NPR or the Internet, use the computers available at the public library. Pick a cause, dream big, get involved, and never underestimate the power of positive thinking and action.
And be grateful for the springs on your wagon.
CAROLYN PETERSON
Houghton
