Opinion: What I'm thankful for ... and not so thankful for

By Roger Sims

Journal publisher

As we enter the holiday season, there is a lot to be thankful for. There is also a lot to not be thankful for.

First and foremost, I’m thankful for the volunteers who every month demonstrate their concern about the plight of those who are not as fortunate as the rest of us. Whether its the volunteers at the food pantries in La Cygne, Mound City, Pleasanton, Parker and Prescott, all of them provide food to the needy throughout the year.

I’m also thankful for those who pulled food and coat drives together this fall, particularly as those who rely on SNAP benefits literally were wondering how they were going to feed families as that program became a political weapon during the shutdown.

However, hunger in Linn County isn’t just a problem during the end-of-the-year holiday season. And while I congratulate those who dropped off a few cans (or even a couple of cases of cans) in area collection bins, I ask those seasonal givers to consider extending your generosity monthly to the food banks across the county that serve people every week.

I am not thankful for those politicians who had the power to continue SNAP benefits during the shutdown but refused to do so. I am not thankful for politicians who, instead of addressing hunger issues across our land, choose to cut resources to organizations like Harvestors Inc.

As the flu season starts again, and COVID infections continue to be a concern, I’m thankful for the health care workers who show up every day to vaccinate us, address our illness, pain or discomfort, and who risk their own health so that we may be well.

My feelings run counter to that for those who, without real proof, steer families away from vaccines that can prevent illnesses that can sometimes be deadly. As we watch diseases we thought once were eliminated return to haunt us, we wonder what motive can be behind those who would turn back the clock to nearly a century ago.

I am thankful for the technology that allows us to bring the Journal to our readers. In an age where the cost of printing and postage has put many newspapers out of business, I am thankful for a medium that can send our product directly to readers. Of course, our main regret is that even now after four and half years, some people in Linn County are only vaguely aware of the Journal.

I am thankful for that same technology that allows us rapid access to information, that allows us access to news services like the Kansas Reflector and the Kansas News Service that gives us the ability to send news that is statewide and regional in scope.

At the same time, I am not thankful for those who have turned the information age into the misinformation age, the age of spin and the age of a lie, if repeated often enough, becoming the truth. I am not thankful for the politicians – local, statewide, and national – that choose spin over fact.

I am thankful for our contributors. Thankful for Bascom Ratliff who reaches out in his religious columns to promote the love that should be the basis for all those people of faith. Thankful for Rogene “Jeannie” McPherson who reminds us of the reasons we love living in the countryside and small towns. Thankful of Billy Roudybush who has been gracious enough to help the Journal with its coverage. All of these people do this without monetary reward, and for that we are eternally grateful.

I am also grateful for the businesses that support the Journal and in doing so help us get our coverage out to our readers. We are also grateful for the readers who send in their donations, whether it’s five dollars a month or a large check once a year. We could not do this without them.

I am also grateful for our readers, the people who send us news tips, the people who give us feedback, even if it’s negative.

Finally, I am thankful for family. Although the group of people we share DNA with has grown very small and distant, our close friends have become our family, and we treasure them as we would brothers or sisters and children.

As we charge headlong into the Christmas season, we have plenty to be thankful for and we need to have faith that those who abuse our trust will find themselves more transparent and less effective in the new year.

Charlene and I wish the best of holidays for you and your family.

P.S.: Mark us as safe from Black Friday. I’ll be thankful to not make shopping a contact sport.