Give thanks so many good people are in our world

“We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” — Author Cynthia Ozick

Just three weeks ago, we were being bombarded with attack ads portraying candidates as hypocrites, incompetents, liars and worse. The steady stream of nastiness painted an ugly picture of public servants and the world we live in. Added to the divisiveness playing out in Washington, D.C., and the crime and depravity occurring in our own community, and it would be easy to lose faith in humanity.

But for every bad guy there are so many others who step up and help others. Our communities are filled with good people who go out of their way to be of service to others. On this Thanksgiving Day, we pause to give thanks for all of them.

There’s the Uber driver who intervened when he came upon a domestic violence situation at Yale and Gibson in February. A man had intentionally crashed his vehicle into one driven by his estranged wife and daughter; fired shots into the car, wounding the daughter in the shoulder; pulled the daughter from the car and started pistol whipping her in the street.

That’s when the Uber driver, Staff Sgt. Christopher Valdez, a 12-year National Guard member, stopped, got out of his vehicle, pointed his weapon at the assailant and told him to stop. The assailant pointed his gun at Valdez, who feared for his own life and shot and killed him, likely saving more than one person that day. Gov. Susana Martinez presented him with the Medal of Valor with Palm — the Palm signifies the recipient put his or her own life in danger. Here is a neighbor who not only makes the sacrifice of serving in the armed forces, but put his life on the line during his civilian job to protect complete strangers.

There is the role firefighters play in our communities, highlighted by the devastating fires in California. The Camp Fire in the hillside town of Paradise alone has killed at least 81 and destroyed more than 13,500 homes. Hundreds are still unaccounted for. California firefighters rushed in and saved thousands of lives in Paradise, and they have been battling other wildfires in their state. Firefighters from around New Mexico have gone to lend a helping hand. Albuquerque Fire Rescue Lt. Brian Fox led a 24-member team to fight the Woolsey Fire near Malibu, which has killed at least two and destroyed 1,500 structures.

And firefighters aren’t the only ones who rush into harm’s way to help others. Just 10 days ago, Albuquerque police were called when Waid Anthony Melton showed up at the southeast Albuquerque food distribution warehouse where he worked and opened fire on the first three people he saw. Officers got to the scene within minutes, went in not knowing if the shooter was still there and pulled victims to safety so they could get medical help. The three survived, thanks to those officers, paramedics and UNM Hospital trauma teams.

Days earlier in Southern California, a veteran sheriff’s deputy responding to an active shooter call was shot and killed by a gunman, who also killed 11 others. A world away, thousands of U.S. service members are in places like Iraq and Afghanistan doing their parts to keep us safe. And they’ve signed up to serve knowing they may end up paying the ultimate price, like Brent Taylor, a father of seven and the mayor of North Ogden, Utah, killed in Afghanistan earlier this month.

There are also many people in our community doing their part to feed the hungry and the homeless, including mail carriers who collected nearly 200,000 pounds of food for the Roadrunner Food Bank last Saturday. The list goes on and on, from teachers going the extra mile to foster parents and hospice providers who make tough situations a bit easier.

There’s no question it’s been a difficult year, but we’ve got so much to be grateful for. So this Thanksgiving Day, we say thanks to each and every one of you trying to make your corner of the world a better place.