Viewpoints: Making Revolutionary Advances In Alzheimer’s, Cancer Requires Much More Commitment; Readers With Differing Perspectives Weigh In On How To Stop Gun Violence
Editorial pages focus on these health topics and others.
Boston Globe:
Celebrating The Pursuit Of Scientific Innovation
Seventy-five years ago, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt penned a letter to his director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, Dr. Vannevar Bush. Basking in the recent glory of the D-Day invasion, exhibiting an innovative mix of confidence and curiosity, the ailing president asked Bush to explore an idea. On the president’s mind was whether the formula, that worked so well in bringing industry, academia, and the government together to produce unprecedented military success during World War II could be applied to life sciences research in order to accelerate the development of cures for deadly diseases. A different war with a different enemy, one fought on the endless battlefield of human biology; but a war nonetheless, with millions of American casualties and counting. (Douglas Eby, 11/12)
The New York Times:
Discussing Guns In America Is Difficult. Let’s Try It.
How can ordinary Americans move the debate about guns and gun violence forward, when it seems our legislators cannot? We thought a conversation might be the right way to start. We paired readers with differing perspectives about guns and American society and asked them to discuss gun violence and legislation. Specifically, we asked them to reach across the aisle and see what areas of agreement they could find, if any. (Rachel L. Harris and Lisa Tarchak, 11/11)
The Hill:
American Heroes Survive Horrors Of War, Only To Die At Home
In August 2015, I attended multiple funerals in just one week. I said goodbye to close friends, and trusted teammates I had relied on during extremely intense combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. We’ve lost over 100 guys in my peer group, some of them in battle, but too many here at home to the ravages of substance use and suicide. The statistics are alarming and heartbreaking. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, 20 veterans and active-duty personnel die by suicide every day. One in 15 veterans are dealing with a substance use disorder — which is often a precursor to either intentional or “unintentional” suicide, those who drink so much they don’t wake up. (Dan Cerrillo, 11/12)
USA Today:
Trump's Attack On DACA Contributes To Immigrant Mental Health Crisis
One winter afternoon, as we stood at the corner waiting to cross the street, my friend turned to me and said he wished he'd get run over by a car. It would make everything he worried about go away. It was 2017, less than a month into the new Trump administration, yet it had already signed executive orders to increase border security, empower ruthless Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and ban millions of people in Muslim-majority countries from traveling to the United States. (Josue De Luna Navarro, 11/12)
Detroit Free Press:
Domestic Violence Doesn't Spare LGBT Community
As the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence notes, with most of the domestic violence awareness movement focused on heterosexual relationships, the LGBT community has largely been left out of the movement, with significant consequences. According to a National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, conducted by the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly half of lesbians and 61% of bisexual women experience rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner, compared to 35% of heterosexual women. (Anthony Williams, 11/10)
The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Philly’s Gun Violence Can Traumatize Youths. Here Are Ways To Support Them.
I do not have the answers on how to stop gun violence. But as executive director of Uplift Center for Grieving Children, I do oversee a grief center for children and families that often provides the crisis and postcrisis support groups offered at city schools and other community venues. Our team is out there working with other agencies and members of the community helping to lessen the harm perpetrated by violence.Last year, Uplift served 1,700 children in groups, and approximately 30% of those children were grieving a loved one who died by homicide. As our officials work on solutions to this crisis, we need to stand up for our city’s youth and give them the support they need. (Darcy Krause, 11/12)
