Are Americans Thankful?

Are You Thankful Today?

People are funny creatures. We can be greedy and impatient one day, kind and considerate the next. And always we are unendingly complicated.

Take being thankful for example. Many cultures dedicate a day to thankfulness. In America we have an actual holiday dedicated just for expressing thanks.

That’s good I suppose (one day is better than none) but what about right now or the next few days, weeks or months? Are we thankful then too? Are you thankful today?

Reasons To Be Thankful

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness you are more blessed than the million who won’t survive the week.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 20 million people around the world.

If you attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than almost 3 billion people in the world.

If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.

If your parents are still married and alive, you are very rare, especially in the United States.

If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

If you can hold someone’s hand, hug them or even touch them on the shoulder, you are blessed because you can offer a healing touch.

Faith

Are Americans thankful for the faith that this country was founded upon? Do Americans still hold this faith or at least appreciative of it? If they do, great, our country will continue to be blessed.

Freedom

You are reading this on a computer connected to the internet. In contrast, many countries will forever deny their citizens the ability to do what we do everyday, sign on and read email, for fear that truth will set them free.

If you live in America, your Constitution guarantees you life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. You have rights. You have the right of free speech, the right to peacefully assemble and to protest.

We move freely from state to state with no border guards. We have access to our elected officials. If we don’t like something they do, we can vote them out.

For these things we should be grateful because they ensure our continued freedom and ability to determine our own fate. Take the time to thank someone who fought for that freedom, not just on Memorial Day or Veterans Day, but every day.

Family

Nothing in the world can replace the happiness that family brings. If you are a parent, no greater privilege exists. No greater stewardship can be granted. No greater joy can be experienced. If you are a part of an adopted family, you can be just as thankful. I know, I have an adopted child who is thankful.

Fortune

Here’s the good news … you are rich right now.

The sheer fact that you are reading this means you are better off than 2 billion citizens of planet earth who can’t read.

Our world encourages us to be competitive, to win. These are necessary traits if we are to progress. Progress is necessary and good.

Yet the noisy pang of business, the desire for double digit growth and the constant comparisons of ourselves to others often cause us to forget that we have so much more to be thankful for.

Future

The Internet itself is a reason for great thanksgiving. It may seem cliché, but the fact remains that in no other time in the history of the world has it been easier to open your own business and change your circumstances.

For many, the Internet is not a convenience, but rather the only way out of desperate circumstances.

A computer programmer in one of the formerly Communist countries of Eastern Europe found his way out of poverty by selling his services cheaply over the Internet. Providing excellent customer service and thankful for the opportunity itself, the income he earns makes possible such “luxuries” as proper medical care and a steady food supply. While the average per capita income in his country remains under $1000 U.S. he surpasses that number and is building a future for himself and his extended family. We in America view Thanksgiving as a one-day event, yet one can guess that it’s Thanksgiving everyday in his home.

More Reasons To Be Truly Thankful For in America

Are Americans thankful for electricity and running water 24/7? Are Americans thankful for air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter? Are they thankful to have a job? And are Americans thankful for their ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food than Darfur has seen in the last year?

Are Americans thankful for our firefighters who appear in moments when their home catches fire, saving you, your family, and your belongings. Are Americans thankful for our police officers that will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss?

In these things, most of us are privileged in ways that others only dream of. God Bless America!