Things to be Thankful For.

On this Thanksgiving day, it is appropriate to step back from the daily partisan battles and remember some of the things that we can all be thankful for.

I am thankful for this earth. Whatever disagreements we all may have about how we are treating it, or how best to manage its resources, it is a miracle in itself, and I am grateful to live in such a wonderful place.

I am thankful for the United States of America. Although I have been very critical of some of the decisions made by our leaders, let's remember that because of the better nation that the Founding Fathers created, I have that right, and this blog can criticize the government all we want, and still be here. And whatever differences we may have about immigration, we can all be grateful that we still live in a nation where people still want to come to, instead of one they want to leave.

I am thankful for the Constitution of the United States of America. The founding fathers could not have foreseen every possible circumstance of life today, but it remains an inspired document that serves as a strong and firm foundation for our Republic. I am thankful that the founding fathers recognized that changing circumstances would require it to be amended from time to time and included a process for doing that.

I am thankful for the right to choose our leaders. Even when people choose leaders I may not personally agree with, I am grateful for the right to vote, and for the fact that we undergo a peaceful transition of power on a regular basis, and don't need to worry about gunmen battling it out in the street about who will lead what part of the land.

I am thankful that I have the right to go to my church on Sunday, but also that no one forces me to or penalizes me if I don't.

I am thankful for my wife.

I am thankful for my family. I love them all dearly, and I am thankful I don't live in a nation where children are taken away from their parents without cause.

I am thankful that my children (all girls) have the right to attend kindergarten, elementary school and high school.

I am thankful for the internet. This wonderful 'information superhighway' (to cop the term that Al Gore used in 1992) means that no matter how much control a few people get over the broadcast media, no one can competely prevent any story from getting out there.

I am thankful for the American people. Whatever our failings as a people and whatever the failings of our elected leaders, I have found that, as Alexis de Tocqueville observed during his travels through America when it was still a young nation, the American people are collectively the most generous in the world. I have lived in New Mexico, Montana, Texas and Arizona, and I have met some really wonderful people in all of those places.

I am thankful for these gifts and many others I have gotten from God. And, I am grateful that He shares them even with people who don't believe in him.

There are a lot of things to be thankful for.