Thursday’s thumbs

Gift for Arkansans reflects desire to help home state

NWA DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Except there’s no snow and Wednesday’s high was a balmy mid50s. A walk to the post office didn’t even require a jacket.

But Christmas is coming, even if meteorology hasn’t produced very much evidence of it.

Are you ready?

If not, don’t blame the calendar. Ever heard the saying “slow as Christmas?” This year, it might have seemed so. Thanksgiving fell on the earliest possible date it can, leaving a whopping 32 days between giving thanks and giving whatever one can afford. Or maybe even beyond that rather reasonable standard.

If it wasn’t possible to get the shopping done in 32 days, the only option might be to petition Congress. We suspect little future for any legislation to move Christmas.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was the last president who actually moved the date of Thanksgiving. In 1939 he gave a thumbs up to moving the holiday to the next-to-last Thursday, some say to create more shopping time. A good number of Americans ignored the deviance from tradition. In 1941, apparently weary of the thumbs down response to his decision, Roosevelt relented and moved the holiday back to the fourth Thursday of the eleventh month.

We love and appreciate our visitors and students from other states and countries, but there’s a soft place in our hearts for Arkansans who choose to go to school in their home state. So it was exciting to hear about Little Rock attorney and UA alumnus B. Jeffery Pence’s recent gift of $100,000 to the UA to provide financial aid to law school students. Why? Because he’s given Arkansans priority when it comes to deciding who will receive that aid. “What I loved most about my time at the university were the friendships I made,” he said in a statement announcing his gift. “Most of my classmates were from Arkansas, so I made lifelong friends and contacts. I wanted someone else to have the same opportunity and the financial assistance to make it happen. It’s a real advantage to go to school in Arkansas if you’re going to practice law in Arkansas.”

We continue to believe our colleges and universities should, first and foremost, be a vehicle for lifting the state of Arkansas to new heights. Undoubtedly, the state benefits from transplants from other locales, but the long-term future for Arkansas will only get brighter as more of its native population takes strides toward becoming more educated. A gift like that by Pence can make a difference for the future of the state.

Let’s not pretend Paul Ryan’s three years as speaker of the House of Representatives will go down in history as the most significant in terms of great legislation for the country, but in a farewell speech the other day, we appreciated his recognition of reality when it comes to people who are in this country illegally. Ryan said a fix should include not just border security but also helping immigrants in the U.S. illegally stay “and be a part of our American fabric.” Oh, we know, it will reward illegal behavior and such, right? But this country has to shoulder some responsibility for the barely checked flow of immigrants allowed into the country for years. It’s simply going to be impossible to drive around picking up people who are here illegally — an estimated 11 million people. Does it stink that it was permitted to get that large? Yes, but that’s hardly the fault of a family that’s been here for 20 years making a living and paying their bills. That’s the fault of our government leadership. But it’s all pointless unless someone can demonstrate that border security can be achieved.

It’s tough to be in jail during the holidays, but some people just can’t help themselves. Take the gentleman from Mountain Home in Boone County whose car was impounded when he got arrested. After his release from jail, the man decided he wanted that car back but the impound lot was closed. The solution? Break into the police impound lot, use one of the other cars to ram through the fence (hey, can’t get scratches on his own ride, right?) and make off with his vehicle. Imagine who Suspect No. 1 was once the police discovered the car missing? Back to the jail he went, this time with a higher bond.

We appreciate people who give to help their fellow man, whether here in Northwest Arkansas or across the planet, and we’re not just speaking the generosity of billionaire philanthropists. In our experience, many of the most giving folks might be seen as the ones who can afford it least. It may even be true, but they give anyway. Maybe it’s because they’ve experienced how significant a helping hand can be. This is the time of year for giving, and we applaud everyone who opens their wallets to support nonprofits that strive all year long to help our neighbors in need. Here’s an idea: Why not mark the 25th of every month as a kind of Christmas reminder that giving isn’t just something to do at holiday time. Your gifts can make a difference all year round.