Sure, we may whine and complain about our politicians, the price of gas, the price of food, how much we hate the Yankees/Lakers (insert least favorite sports team here), or whatever else it is that we dislike at any given time, but in truth, we have so much to be thankful for.
Freedom for one.
Our society gained, through the wisdom of our founding fathers and the Revolutionary War, a society that has been dreamed of by all men since the beginning of recorded history. A place where all men and women have the potential to be free; a place where, by the sweat of our brow, we can achieve a life that is good.
Name another society that had as much potential for individual freedom, where an individual can receive as much reward for their work ethic. This IS the land of opportunity. We can have what we want, all it takes is a little determination, a little elbow grease, and sometimes a little bit of luck. As Ayn Rand says (and I'm loosely quoting here), "Americans are the first people to use the phrase 'to make money.'" Basically, she says that we are the first people who realized that we build our own fortune, we forge our own path. And that has been the American way since the very beginning.
Sure, I'll grant that America has problems. Some people will say we have racial/minority issues. And I suppose that is true, but it's nothing close to what is going on in the middle east. Compared to what goes on in the rest of the world, American racial issues are on the level of squabbling children. Others despair because of the American political situation, but once again, we're pretty stable compared to the rest of the world (I think Zimbabwe is a mess right now). And others say that we are destroying the environment, to them I say, "your mom. . . already did it." Oh, my mom (who is AWESOME) pointed out poverty, but I have to say that our poor are rich compared to the rest of the world (My family for instance is pretty "poor," but with five cars (three iffy), two houses (unfinished), three TVs, two pianos, running water, indoor plumbing, a billion books, like eight computers, and other typical family junk, we don't sound bad off at all, we live the American dream).
We have much to be thankful for.
The problem that this creates is that we become victims of our success. Today's America is much softer/weaker than the America of 100 or even 50 years ago. We become apathetic to the cause for which our ancestors sacrificed so much. As John C. Calhoun said, "It is harder to preserve than obtain liberty."
And this is the stage that we are at today. Today, the 4th of July, the day where we gained our independence from the English crown, we must remember that it is our job to not squander away this marvelous gift that we have been given. Our love of freedom must not die.
1 comment:
Here, here! Where else can a woman choose whatever profession she wants? Even if we have a crappy, used car, it still puts us in the top third of the richest people in the world. A person in Chile that sees another person with a three-legged donkey will say, "Lucky! I wish I had one."
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