# 292 Friday February 9, 2007 - WRESTLING THE HEAT: Stem Cells and Democracy
When I was in the Army, long ago when the rocks were soft and dinosaurs
ruled the world, I lived in Texas, at Fort Wolters, just outside a little
town called Mineral Wells.
Short of death by boiling, it was the hottest, wettest, most miserable
climate I can personally imagine.
Humidity?
In the aptly-named mess hall, (the cooks were casual; one scratched his head
over the scrambled eggs so the dandruff fell in-the other cooks just
laughed) there were salt tablets at every table; these were needed.
Sometimes you could literally watch the sweat well up out of the pores on
the back of your hand.
And one particularly stifling day, as waves of heat roiled the air, so
chokingly thick I could barely breathe, I remember thinking: I wish the heat
was something you could punch.
"Incurable" disease inspires that feeling, the wish you could physically
fight it.
Paralysis. Parkinson's. Cancer.  Alzheimer's.
I visited a friend's house the other day. Her mother has Alzheimer's. As
Gloria and I walked in, the friend mouthed "She's having a bad day".
During the visit, the mom hovered helplessly around, smiling nervously,
wanting to participate but not seeming to know quite who anybody was.
Here was a woman, once of exceptional intelligence, who now must be
constantly watched, lest she harm herself. Silverware in the drawers had to
be suitable for a child, knives with blunt edges. Matches had to be kept
high out of reach.
The chores of a physical invalid must be done too, because Alzheimer's can
rob a person of the memory of how to dress and bathe.
Eventually, the brain "forgets" how to swallow, and then, to breathe.
Alzheimer's. What a miserable, hateful condition.
Democracy lets us fight it.
Like when the good news came in that Craig Johnson had won the Senatorial
race in the 27th district of New York.
That was a blow against Alzheimer's disease.
Why? Because newly-elected New York Governor Elliot Spitzer has pledged one
billion dollars to fund embryonic stem cell research-but he will need the
cooperation of the Senate to make that happen-- and Senator Johnson may
provide that key support.
All the chores of activism, the phone calls, letters, editorials, meetings,
the persuasive conversations-every word you say in support of stem cell
research-each one is a punch in the fight we must win.
Alzheimer's is complicated; it will be extraordinarily hard to beat it. But
we have a chance, and that is more than there was just a few years ago.
Stem cells may soon be able to give us a look at the process of Alzheimer's
disease: how it begins, how it affects the brain, how it does its damage-and
how it may be defeated.
That is what we are fighting for, to provide funding and protect freedom for
the scientists, so they will be able to do their work, and bring cure.
Aren't you glad we can have this struggle?
This to me is a continual amazement. Our system of government allows us to
disagree with the power structure, and bring change.
We live in a country where we can use democracy to fight: openly, honestly,
fully, disagreeing utterly with the powers that be: we can bring change,
even against the wishes of the people in charge.
Consider: my stem cell opinions clash with the Pope and the President of the
United States, two of the most powerful men on the planet.
If they knew I existed, (unlikely, to say the least), they would probably
regard me as an annoying little insect.  In another time, the dominant
religious/political leader could have just snapped their fingers, and the
mosquito is disappeared.
But not here, not now.
My country's constitutional democracy not only protects my right of free
speech, but allows me to help organize voters to support the supporters of
stem cell research.
I am proud of America for many reasons: the sheer beauty of our country, and
the intoxicating diversity of our citizens, bringing together the wisdom of
many lands.
But most of all, I love that our system of democratic decision-making allows
us to fight back and forth on the great issues, and sometimes we win and
sometimes we lose, but we do it peaceably.
Sometimes, we are even polite about it, civil to those we could easily
regard as enemies. At the press conference after the Craig Johnson victory,
the first thing Senator-elect Johnson said was to honor and respect his
opponent Maureen McConnell for her years of service as a nurse; and the
first thing she said was to express her willingness to work with him in the
future.
That's how it is supposed to be.
Remember that old classic Chuck Jones Warner Brothers cartoon about the wolf
and the sheepdog? All day long they fight and fight and fight-just beat the
bleepcensoredcensored out of each other-- until the whistle blows. Then they
get their lunchboxes, and punch out at the time clock-"G'night, Ralph, G'night
Sam"-and go home.
We too can snarl and snap and bicker and yell-and then go home at night, and
we are still people, still Americans, still fellow citizens of a blue and
beautiful earth. That is something to treasure.
In the end, we are not fighting each other-we are wrestling the heat; we are
taking on the enemies of all mankind.
G'night, Ralph.
G'night, Sam.
By Don Reed
www.stemcellbattles.com

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