Let's make Election Day a holiday
Look, gang, it’s Thursday, so of course that means …
Chat Day?
Yes, yes, we had to move our chat this week because of Halloween. Celine Dion wasn’t happy about it, either — but hey, life goes on.
At least we can offer you some interesting items today, and we’re starting with one that I think makes so much sense that it should be enshrined in law.
Ready?
ITEM: We know that voter turnout across the United States is pathetic compared to most countries.
Kootenai County likewise can drop its head in shame, with just 29 percent of registered voters (and about half of all eligible voters) casting ballots in the May primary.
Well …
A record 44 percent of U.S. firms will give workers paid time off to vote next Tuesday, up from 37 percent in 2016, according to reports from the Society for Human Resources Management.
More than 400 companies have also signed on to efforts with ElectionDay.org and “Time to Vote” to boost voter turnout in a variety of ways.
I think any employee who asks for a short time off to vote should be accommodated — and yes, I mean right here at home.
In fact, there are nations that have created national holidays for elections, and that seems like a great idea.
It would certainly be a better use of time off than Columbus Day.
Cough!
ITEM: I have a bulging file of emails — many with photos included — that prove you are “pet people.”
Therefore, you’ll no doubt understand my current issue with Sammie the World’s Greatest Cat.
She knows exactly when I’m using my laptop for amusement (she dozes through that), but also when I’m tapping away on business.
If it’s the latter, she’ll make every effort to walk on the keyboard and, if she’s precise, maybe erase a few hours worth of work.
I wondered why Sammie would do such a thing, so I bought a book by Pam Johnson-Bennett. It’s called: “Think Like a Cat.”
So far, it hasn’t helped much — but I am starting to crave tuna.
My problems, though, pale in comparison to those of reader John Dier, who wrote …
“My cat does manage to bite me at least once a day. We talk about this, but he only pretends to listen.”
John, I have a book you can borrow.
ITEM: Let’s wrap up on a serious but hopeful note …
We’ve discussed the issue of rising suicide rates in this space — and in particular, how the tragic numbers keep going up in this part of the country.
All the dangers still exist, most definitely, but a crucial piece of science has emerged that may explain some of our regional problems with suicide.
You’ve probably heard of lithium, a potent psychiatric drug and one of the primary medications for bipolar disorder.
But lithium is also an element that occurs naturally all over the Earth’s crust — including in bodies of water.
That means small quantities of lithium wind up in the tap water you consume every day. Just how much is in the water varies quite a bit from place to place.
Recent studies have shown that the more lithium occurring in drinking water, the lower suicide rates tend to be in that region.
For instance, the Rockefeller Foundation’s “Future Perfect” initiative turned up information that lithium is present in higher densities throughout the Northeast U.S., but in lower amounts in the Rocky Mountains and the West.
Those happen to be the exact inverse of suicide rates, which are highest here in the Mountain West.
Nassir Ghaemi, the Tufts psychiatry professor who co-authored a review of lithium studies, argues that the effects are huge.
High-lithium areas, he wrote, have suicide rates 50 to 60 percent lower than those of low-lithium areas.
Ghaemi and a number of other eminent psychiatrists are making a pretty remarkable claim.
They think we could save tens of thousands of lives per year with a very simple, low-cost intervention.
It would mean putting small amounts of lithium, amounts likely too small to have significant side effects, into our drinking water — the way we add fluoride to protect our teeth.
There are still more studies to do, obviously.
Nothing so staggering can be enacted without more scientific examination.
But still …
What if?
•••
Steve Cameron is a columnist for The Press.
A Brand New Day appears from Wednesday through Saturday each week.
Steve’s sports column runs on Tuesday.
Email: scameron@cdapress.com
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