We occasionally find ourselves stumbling over the reality of our blessings only to pick ourselves up and hurry off as if nothing has happened. An attitude of gratitude brings with it an inspiring lifestyle and soothes our troubled emotions of constant stress and status competition.
We need to look around us with observing eyes of gratitude and take inventory of all the blessings we Americans take for granted. The Thanksgiving season should serve as a slow-down period for a self-evaluation of our countless daily blessings.
Our beloved America is not perfect. We have not arrived at a final state of ultimate maturity, and hopefully never will. We are a growing and changing country that through our history has faced challenge upon challenge. By adaptation and change, we have usually met these challenges with a dedicated determination to protect and preserve our freedoms inherited from our founders.
We can never be totally thankful for these freedoms unless we include the brave and giving armed forces who have gallantly protected and preserved these freedoms. Without their sacrifices, these freedoms would have been robbed from us long ago.
What greater blessing could any country bestow upon its citizenry than the freedoms of speech, worship and equality? The freedom of equality has been slow in coming and is still in progression, but it is nonetheless growing and reaching out to those oppressed.
We should be perpetually thankful, not only at Thanksgiving, but daily that we are Americans and reside in this land of the free. The majority of citizens of other lands are envious of our freedoms and lifestyle. We are indeed a blessed nation.
As it should be, all creeds and religions are welcome here. But we are ever mindful of our own religious foundation and fundamental dependency upon God. Without apology, we must stand and remain true to the precepts and principles of our Declaration of Independence that proudly announces for all generations to hear that we are dependent upon God and place our vigilant trust in Him.
America the blessed. America the bountiful. America the melting pot for welcomed immigrants. America the tolerant of diverse beliefs. America the powerful when challenged. But best of all, America is our home sweet home. This Thanksgiving 2009 we are truly thankful for all of God’s bounty and blessing to America. A happy and blessed Thanksgiving to all!
— Elton Slusser
