The Good and the Bad of Michael J. Fox

Michael J. Fox was interviewed by Time Magazine (with question sent in by readers) in the latest issue. Fox, burdneded by Parkinson's disease, continues to be a major advocate for finding a cure for the dibilitating diease. As far as I know, he doesn't know Jesus. Some of his answers in the interview reflect that. Others do not.

Good:

How do you keep your optimism in the face of difficult circumstances?

I think mostly it's about acceptance. I have no choice about whether or not I have Parkinson's. I have nothing but choices about how I react to it. In those choices, there's freedom to do a lot of things in areas that I wouldn't have otherwise found myself in.

Bad:

How has your diagnosis affected your beliefs about life, death or spirituality?

It's a big wake-up call about mortality, obviously. I think that's a good thing for us to get out of the way--the earliest you can responsibly deal with the fact that this isn't a dress rehearsal. It's like a 75-, 80-year ride if we're lucky, so let's make the most of it.

Good:

Have you ever felt cheated by having Parkinson's disease?

No, absolutely not. It's been a detour that I wouldn't have planned, but it's really led me to amazing places. I mean, I enjoy my work as an actor. But to make a difference in people's lives through advocacy and through supporting research--that's the kind of privilege that few people will get, and it's certainly bigger than being on TV every Thursday for half an hour.

Doubly bad (and a really bad argument):

What do you think is the best argument going forward to support stem-cell research?

If something has that much promise, there's no good argument to walk away from it. We need to find a way to do the work.

Great:

Have you ever found yourself embarrassed by your disease?

Yes, early on, certainly. Now I feel and I say all the time that vanity is, like, long gone. I'm really free of worrying about what I look like, because it's out of my shaky hands. I don't control it. So why would I waste one second of my life worrying about it?

Pray for him.