EDITORIAL HAPPY THANKSGIVING THIS YEAR, ESPECIALLY, IT'S HARD TO TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED.THE paradox of living in our affluent society affluent society, term coined by John Kenneth Galbraith in The Affluent Society (1958) to describe the United States after World War II. An affluent society, as the term was used ironically by Galbraith, is rich in private resources but poor in public ones is that while we have more than ever to be grateful for, the need for our gratitude becomes less immediately obvious. Unlike the Pilgrims, most of us seldom find ourselves worrying about our very survival, wondering if there will be enough food or if we will be able to withstand the elements. And so we usually take the comforts of our lives for granted. This year, that's not so easy. With still more than a month to go, 2005 has been a year of record disasters. It began in the aftermath of the horrific tsunami that struck Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, region of Asia (1990 est. pop. 442,500,000), c.1,740,000 sq mi (4,506,600 sq km), bounded roughly by the Indian subcontinent on the west, China on the north, and the Pacific Ocean on the east. . It continued with Southern California's torrential rains, culminating in January's deadly mudslide in La Conchita. There were the ravages rav·age v. rav·aged, rav·ag·ing, rav·ages v.tr. 1. To bring heavy destruction on; devastate: A tornado ravaged the town. 2. of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, plus smaller hurricanes so numerous that the World Meteorological Organization World Meteorological Organization (WMO), specialized agency of the United Nations; established in 1951 with headquarters at Geneva. It replaced the International Meteorological Organization, which was established in 1878. ran out of names for them. Fires threatened various parts of Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , and a massive earthquake devastated dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. Afghanistan and Pakistan. If all that weren't enough, government officials world over now scramble in anticipation of what may be our next deadly natural disaster - avian flu avian flu: see influenza. . Just in case we needed a reminder that life is fragile, that things like health, food and shelter are precious goods not be be treated lightly, 2005 gave us several. The tens of thousands killed, left homeless, hungry, lonely or afraid are more reminders than we could have ever asked for. The calamities of the past year also remind us of the far less spectacular calamities of every day, the ones that don't make the nightly news Nightly News may refer to
But Thanksgiving is about more than taking comfort in the knowledge that we have been spared this or that tragedy. It's also for celebrating the joys of life - family, friendship, peace, kindness, freedom, prosperity, laughter, faith, compassion, charity and more. This Thanksgiving, especially, there's no taking any of these things for granted. If you have a roof over your head, know that you are fortunate. If you have food on your table today, be glad. If you have loved ones to join you, consider yourself blessed. And let's all remember that there is no better way to show our gratitude than to give and to help those who are less fortunate. Happy Thanksgiving! |
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