Reasons to rejoice

We always have many reasons to rejoice during the holiday season. Spending time with friends and family, exchanging gi s, wishing for peace and good will to all. We are fortunate to live in this country and in this county. Not that we don't have problems: in ation, immigration, the fentanyl curse, income inequality, discrimination and many others are just a few of the problems that urgently need our attention. But we are a country adept at dealing with problems pragmatically, perhaps born out of our innate optimism that makes us believe every problem has a solution if approached in a reasonable way.

A prime example of this unique American quality is how we handled the Jan. 6, 2021, attempt to halt the peaceful transfer of power. In many countries this would have been viewed as an attempted coup, a state of emergency would have been declared, martial law imposed and democratic institutions suspended. Instead our Congress examined the issue methodically to get to the bottom of what happened, gathering evidence, eliciting testimony, letting the facts speak for themselves with full knowledge that the American people would be able to form an opinion not based on speculation or conspiracy theories but on those facts.

Now that the January 6 Committee report is out, along with referrals to the Justice Department for prosecution of those who broke the law, we can feel proud that our democratic institutions functioned as they should, protecting us and our republic against those who would wish to tear it down.

Good reasons to celebrate this holiday season. Joy to all.