Pushing the positive today

So frequently people announce that the news is "too negative" or they feel the world is just that.  As a brief solution today? Some good news. This from economist/author/professor/political commentator  Robert Reich and his Facebook page today:

Too often we forget how much social progress has been made in recent years, mainly because determined people have organized and mobilized for change. Some examples: 

(1) Despite its rocky start, the Affordable Care Act in January alone redistributed $34 billion in healthcare subsidies to low and middle-income families. Total healthcare spending (the main driver of the national debt) is now growing at the slowest rate since the creation of Medicare in 1965. 

(2) More solar power was installed in the United States last year than the previous 30 years combined, and the per unit cost of solar power is falling so rapidly it’s soon likely to drop below that of coal.

(3) Smoking (the leading preventable cause of death) is now barred in most workplaces, restaurants, office, and public facilities in the United States -- and the percent of Americans who smoke continues to decline.

(4) Gay marriage is now legal in 17 states and the District of Columbia -- and federal judges have ruled against bans in Utah, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Virginia, and Texas.

(5) The rate of childhood obesity has dropped 43% over the last decade, and sales of sugary soft drinks and cereals have plummeted.

(6) Two states have legalized marijuana, and 20 others now allow it sale for medical purposes.

(7) America has its first black president, and seems very likely to have its first female president within a few years. 

I can only add to this list that, God willing, the same political party that gave us our first black president in the White House is just about to give us the first female president of the nation, in our next big election.

Or, barring that, Senator Bernie Sanders as our next President. Either way, it's a huge win for America and middle- and lower-class Americans.

Think happy thought, campers.

Have a great weekend.