THE GOOD OF THE WEEK OF JUNE 27 Mississippi Delta erosion, Newspapers versus Internet, Same sex marriage, Obamacare

 Four key "good" events of the past week. Your comment invited.       

         

      Follow-up to the post of June 12 (below). The Rev. Dr. Kristina Peterson, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Bayou, Louisiana, gives an extended interview on Mississippi River delta erosion. No frowns, no finger pointing—just the facts and concerns of the people as they lose their land, acre after acre. Watch the interview on the PBS page at this link: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2015/06/19/june-19-2015-kristina-peterson-extended-interview/26237/

·     Second, a reader replied thoughtfully to my June 20 posting (see below.) I’d bemoaned that young people aren’t reading newspapers but do spend their time skipping from site to site on the internet. Reader Ronald wrote (rightly, I think) that internet users tend to restrict their visits to the groups and individuals with whom they already agree. In that way, he suggested, the internet could be a cause of the division of opinion in the U.S., rather than a possible solution. 

I see his point. However, I’ve certainly read lively debate in comments following articles in New York Times, The Guardian, and on a Linked-In clergy group I belong to. 

So I have a question for everyone: realistically, how can bloggers and readers promote real debate? It’s important because public discussion is vital to a democratic society.

·       The Supreme Court upheld the legality of U.S. subsidies for Obamacare. My opinion: people need health insurance by one means or another. The new American program is helping the otherwise-uninsured.

I received a routine medical test in a clinic on Thursday. I remarked to my nurse how full the waiting room seemed. She replied like, “We’re really busy right now with new patients. Obama Care enrollees are coming in with issues they’ve ignored before they had this insurance.”

How great, I thought, that people are getting medical care for problems they’ve had to live with. Lovely.

·       Finally, same –sex marriage approved by Supreme Court, now legalized in all fifty states. In my part of the country (upper left part, as some wags say) same-sex marriage has been a way of life for a few years. Washington and Oregon societies haven’t crumbled; in fact, they seem stronger. The fight for equality isn’t over, as some governors and other politicians have already begun a search for legal impediments to limit the newly-adopted right.