Public safeguards give all of us a reason to be thankful
If we’re lucky, we’ll all sit down tomorrow with family and/or friends and give thanks for what we have. There are a lot of people out there who don’t have much, and this time every year I include them in my thoughts. I hope their lives will improve and I go to work every day trying to help make that happen, in any way my humble efforts can.
And like most of us, I take some time to reflect on what I am thankful for, sometime between the Lions annual football game and the meal I am lucky enough to be able to serve.
This year, in this climate of the Big Business war on public safeguards, I am thankful to live in a country where our government has taken the responsibility to protect its citizens. I feel fortunate to live in the United States in the 21st century, when we as a people recognize the importance of clean air and water for all, for food and consumer products that are inspected and deemed safe.
I’m thankful for rules that insist that airline pilots fly a reasonable amount of hours and must be off to rest before their next flight. I’m glad here are laws preventing the exploitation of children in the workplace.
I’m glad there are standards the automakers must uphold and the ones in place for the steel that make our buildings and bridges.
Without these things, our nation would crumble into chaos. The regulations that have been established make us safer, more healthy and productive members of our society. Turning them back would be a terrible admission that the public welfare is not as important as the bottom line… and that is something only Big Business would be thankful for.