As one of my favorite holidays rolls around, Thanksgiving reminds me that it’s a time for reflection and a time to be thankful. And God knows, we as a country, we as Americans, we have a lot to be thankful for.
We know all the stuff that’s wrong with our country; all we have to do is turn on the TV or read the papers. But we should never lose sight of all the stuff that is good and right about our country either.
For starters, we live under one of the best systems of government ever devised by man. People are truly free to live their lives as they see fit. The citizens of our great country are armed with certain rights thereby insuring their safety and protection from an over-zealous government. These same rights restore the dignity to every man, woman and child living in this land.
We don’t have to look that far back … just a mere 75 years ago, three leaders with absolute power: Mao of Mainland China, Stalin of the U.S.S.R (Russia) and Hitler of Germany – just these three leaders – were responsible for the brutal torture, murder, purges, starvation, slaughter, and systematic annihilation of between 75-to-100-million human beings … mostly of their own people. All three ruled by absolute fear, and that’s just the way things were.
We the people as a free people created vibrant industries, technological innovations and an economic engine that for decades pulled much of the other boxcar nations to higher and higher living standards. We literally brought light to darkness, made our ships fly in the sky, interconnected the rest of the planet with daily communication, split the atom, invented medicines to eradicate polio and other diseases …. and grew enough food to feed many other nations other than ourselves.
It’s an incredibly fantastic and true story. So we should be thankful for all that we possess not only materially, but also for the God-given metaphysical resources that we possess between our two ears and the spiritual wealth that most Americans draw their strength from.
Yes, there is a lot of work that needs to be done. Yes, we need to form a more perfect union, yes we need to right many inequities, but let us take this day – Thanksgiving Day – and reflect on the many wonderful sacrifices made by those who came before and be thankful for many blessings that have been bestowed upon us.
Wishing you and your family a truly wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday.
What’s the best kind of giving … Thanksgiving. PW