Grateful

We've got a lot to be thankful for. I'm speaking personally, for my family and myself, of course. But as a country we have a lot to be thankful for too. We may be a bit stressed out at the moment and we sometimes take it out on each other, but as my father was fond of saying almost until the day he died, "This too shall pass."

Our national great divide has led us to snap at each other. We refer to what we oppose in deeply negative terms. This is sometimes OK and occasionally necessary, I guess, but for the most part we could be kinder and more appreciative. We don't need to forget all the good things a person has done just because they now have gone down, from our own perspective, some crazy path.

The same goes for policy. Even if we want a change in direction, we don't need to bash the past. 

I'm concerned about a warming planet. Even best-case scenarios aren't great, and I see no reason not to do everything in our power to reduce the risks of climate change. This means drastic reductions in coal and other fossil fuels. But it doesn't seem right to consider coal and oil some great evil. They provided the energy for industry, transportation, and home comfort. These resources drove our economy. Most of us consider a warm home and a strong economy good things. There's a lot to appreciate about fossil fuels despite today's need to drastically reduce their use.

Would it better serve the cause of green energy to express appreciation for all that oil and gas and coal have done for us? This isn't to excuse those who knew for years but hid the truth from the public about the impending danger. Such people should be held accountable. But if we denigrate the very energy we used to build much of our national and global economies, then we can expect resistance. We can expect to come off as extreme. Most people still consider their car a useful possession, even if it is still powered by gasoline.

I suspect the coal miners and oil roughnecks would like a sense of appreciation. I see no reason not to admire them. Many coal miners, at least, probably realize their days are numbered. But the days they spent extracting energy were worth something. We can still be grateful for their work, for what they produced, and for what it provided. We can let them know, if not with a monument then with other means of expression, that what they have done is a foundation for where we need to go.

As a culture and a country, we mostly go out of our way to thank veterans. That's certainly better than blaming them, as we did many Vietnam vets, for a war they didn't start or want. I sometimes wonder why we can't find ways to equally thank other workers. The miners and roughnecks and loggers and farmers and teachers and factory and grocery-store and health workers probably don't want us fawning over them any more than most vets do. But it's right and good to communicate gratitude for what they've done for us. I expect they'll be more inclined to cooperate in addressing our current problems if we appreciate their help in addressing past ones.

Negative campaigning is, it seems, effective for getting elected. I'm hopeful, though, that most of us have had enough of that crap. It's my opinion that Democrats, for the most part, will never do negative as well has Republicans, who seem to have honed the strategy razor sharp. Don't go that route in 2022. Be the grownup in the room. Fight fire with water. Say thanks without ceasing.