The views expressed in this column are the opinion of the writer and not necessarily those of the ownership or management of this newspaper.

Thanksgiving is a time, when aside from overeating and maybe watching a meaningless football game, we’re encouraged to offer thanks – usually to family, close friends, or Deity.

However, we should also give a nod to the community as a whole, comprised of people we may not even know. It is they, who in a collective effort, provide us an enhanced quality of life.

And that’s why I find a recent poll so disturbing.

Last week, the Associated Press reported that public support for seemingly popular health care reform effort dwindles when respondents are told they might have to fork over an extra dollar or two. For instance, a whopping 82 percent of Americans polled by the Pew Research Center agreed that the government should ban insurance companies from denying benefits for pre-existing conditions. But when an AP pollster told people in a different survey that doing away with pre-existing condition denials could make them pay more for health insurance, support dropped almost in half.

That’s sad. If something is right and humane, we shouldn’t switch sides simply for economic benefit.

Our quality of life stems from paying for things we never or seldom use. The vast majority of Salt Lake residents, for instance, don’t visit the Hogle Zoo in a given year, but they boosted property taxes since they thought zoos were worthwhile. A small majority of people ride FrontRunner, swim in community pools, attend government-subsidized concerts and theatrical productions, or hike canyon trails – but we pay taxes for these since they contribute to more livable communities.

I’m especially dismayed when Utahns – supposedly of a religious and overwhelmingly Christian heritage – look at a price tag rather than the benefit. In a new book, “The Faith Instinct: How Religion Evolved” and Why It Endures, the author claims (in the words of Time magazine reviewer) that humans may be innately selfish, but early hunter-gatherers learned to subordinate self-interest to the will of the group in order to survive. “The solution that evolved,” writes author Nicholas Wade, “was religious behavior,” humankind’s best organizing principle.

Pres. Obama’s health care reform plan may be problematic, but conservatives (especially frightened religious conservatives) should not toss the whole idea aside just because it would impact their pocketbook. Rail against the bill if you don’t agree with it, but don’t fret and agonize based solely on self-interest.

It all goes back to the axiom, “Don’t tax you, don’t tax me, tax that guy behind the tree.” Sorry, but sometimes we have to pay to help someone else instead of arguing, “What do I get out of it?” Walking the humane path benefits us all.

Happy Thanksgiving.