A Hard Week in America
It’s been a tough week.
Maybe you’ve argued with friends or relatives. Maybe you’ve worried about our Constitution, free speech, or the violence that seems to haunt our news. Maybe you shook your head at the headlines about Charlie Kirk’s murder.
We feel these things deeply. It’s hard not to.
But before we drown in the weight of it all, let’s take a breath… and step back.
The Longest Democracy in History
Here’s something we forget: the United States is the longest-running democracy in the history of the world.
Two hundred and forty-eight years. Nearly two and a half centuries.
Now, put that in perspective.
Portugal’s democracy was born in 1974.
France has cycled through five republics since 1789.
Germany’s current democracy dates only to 1949.
We’ve been at this since Washington took the oath in 1789—and through it all, we’ve never stopped.
That doesn’t mean it’s been easy. We’ve stumbled, sometimes badly. But the sheer fact that we continue, that we argue, adapt, and press forward—that’s remarkable.
The Arguments That Bind Us
We argue. Sometimes fiercely.
But the very act of arguing is proof that we still care enough to speak.
And after the debates and the heated words, most of us still gather for Thanksgiving. We still pass the potatoes. We still laugh at birthdays. We still show up at hospital bedsides.
Our democracy isn’t neat. It isn’t quiet. But it is alive.
Living Better Than Kings
While we’re arguing, it’s worth pausing to notice how we live.
John D. Rockefeller, the richest man of his time, never had:
A memory-foam mattress.
Fresh Alaska salmon flown overnight to his home.
Coffee roasted in small batches, brewed better than anything our parents ever tasted.
We live in houses warmer in winter and cooler in summer than kings and queens ever imagined. We eat food from across the globe. We benefit from medicine that would have seemed miraculous a century ago.
And yet we forget how extraordinary our daily lives really are.
Through Storms, Still Standing
This country has been tested again and again.
We survived a Civil War.
We endured two world wars.
We battled the Spanish flu and COVID.
We clawed our way through the Great Depression and the crash of 2009.
Every generation believed the storm it faced was the one that might end it all.
Yet here we are. Still here. Still American.
Gratitude as Action
So, if you are reading these words right now—if you can take a deep breath—you already hold something priceless.
And here’s what I prescribe:
Tip your waiter a little extra.
Smile at a stranger.
Compliment someone on the color of their shirt.
Give a dollar to the homeless man on the corner.
Call the relative you’ve been avoiding.
Because gratitude isn’t just a thought. [pause] Gratitude is an action.
These small acts, multiplied across millions of us, are what bind us closer than any headline can pull us apart.
Take a Breath, America
So let’s take that breath.
We’re still here.
We’re still talking.
We’re still family.
And those… are your doctor’s orders.
Thank you! The medical news you share and the ‘kindly doctor’ words you speak are all appreciated by this Michigan reader. You cut through the noise and impart a little wisdom. Sometimes my normally logical (& educated) thoughts can get caught in the swirl of news where even I start to doubt what I know to be true. You are one of my “Walter Cronkites” who I trust to share knowledge not hyperbole. Thank you. Carry on!