COURSEY: A resolution for 2012

My New Year's Day hangover seemed worse than usual, with my temples pounding from the cacophony of the Republican presidential primaries, my stomach churning from overindulgence by the 1 percent of our increasingly stratified society and my eyes burning from the smoke wafting off of the ruins of a once-powerful economy.

I thought about heading back to the refuge of my bed, where I could pull the covers over my head and hide from reality. But first, I looked at the newspaper.

And realized things could be a lot worse.

In Syria, snipers shoot peaceful demonstrators and leave their bodies in the streets. In Somalia, war has been pretty much constant for 20 years. In Congo and Sudan, sudden death is a way of life. In Turkey, civilians are caught in the deadly crossfire between the military and rebel Kurds. In Afghanistan, American soldiers are in their second decade of war. In Iraq, it's Groundhog Day in the sectarian blood feud that was put on hold while we made that country safe for democracy.

As I read about the troubles that afflict the rest of the world, my hangover lifted. It's not that those troubles make me feel better; it's that the realization of how hard life is in other places makes my own afflictions seem small – even miniscule – in comparison.

We have much to fix in America, to be sure. We still have brothers and sisters at war in foreign places (and Iran rattling its saber, in case we need more). Our government is gridlocked by partisanship and hamstrung by revenue losses to the point where we can't even fund a full year of education for public school students. We still have tens of millions of people without jobs. The poverty rate is the highest in more than 50 years, according to the Census Bureau. The middle class is shrinking.

So yeah, let's work on those things. Let's not be complacent about the serious problems we face here at home.

But let's also give thanks that as we battle inequality, as we protest injustice and as we demand accountability from those in positions of power, we do that in a place where we don't have to fear roadside bombs, snipers on rooftops, tanks in the streets, starvation, rampant disease, genocide.

My resolution in 2012: Never be satisfied with the way things are, but always be thankful for the things we've got.

Chris Coursey's blog offers a community commentary and forum, from issues of the day to the ingredients of life in Sonoma County.