When you stop and dwell on this thought, it takes on more significance than it does when first suggested.

And it’s entirely achievable if we all put our minds and hearts to it.

You know how the Butler Eagle is in the habit of publishing the drug overdose fatalities on Thursday’s editorial page? Well, last Thursday the count stood at 40, with 6 cases pending.

Yes the six pending cases include the ugly incident last week at the Lafayette Apartments. Authorities found the bodies of a man and a woman Tuesday night on the building’s fourth floor. Forensic test results will likely confirm what kind of drug killed Todd Terry, 59, and Donna DiGiacomo, 49.

Combined, that would make 46 cases total in 2018.

That’s a lot of dead people. That’s a lot of broken hearts and wasted potential. It’s a lot of traumatized first-responders, medical and nursing staff and clinical psychologists who lost patients; a lot of nonviolent offenders to be let down by the criminal justice system.

A lot of sons and daughters — loved ones who suffered and died too young.

It’s a sad thought by every measure except one — 46 is exactly half the number of fatalities recorded in 2017. And it is by this one measure alone that Butler — city and county — might derive some satisfaction and hope for our future and trust in our direction.

One year ago, we were a community in spiritual tatters. We had no idea how to respond to a crisis that overwhelmed us.

And somehow, not really knowing what to expect, we’ve managed — maybe — to cut in half this most gruesome statistic.

This is something we can hope and pray for — wouldn’t it be something if Butler could actually do this, cut in half its overdose fatality rate in just one year?

For this to happen, it would mean that we can’t have another fatality before New Year’s Day. That sounds like such a long way off, but consider: today is Dec. 17. It’s only 14 days until Dec. 31. That’s just two weeks.

This next part may sound silly, but the state just distributed free Naloxone to anyone who asked for it. This nasal-spray form of opioid antidote is a proven life-saver. There’s no denying the controversial nature of it — who’s paying for it, who’s qualified to dispense it, and whether it promotes irresponsible behavior. Let’s just suspend the debate for the next two weeks in the interest of stopping the overdose deaths for the rest of 2018.

Yes, we know. It’s shameful that we resort to make a rallying point of such things. To be the city that can say: hooray! We cut our overdose deaths in half in 2018. Maybe we should leave that one in the dirty laundry basket.

On the other hand, let’s do be the city that rediscovers hope in the final two weeks of 2018. Let’s do be the county that restores its vision and purpose and confidence for a constructive future.

Let’s do build on something.

Let’s give ourselves this Christmas present.

We can do this.