Grateful To Be Living In The US

I was told this morning that we would be going around the Thanksgiving table and everyone would have to write something that they were thankful for about the United States of America. As mom pointed out, the political climate has been so negative. There are so many failings and short comings that it makes it easy for us to lose site of our gratefulness to be Americans. It's easy to get jaded. It's easy to be harsh. To be negative. To see only the parts of our country that need improvement. 

As I sat to write my short paragraph I also found it extremely easy to be grateful. To be thankful. I feel overwhelmed by the blessing of living in this country. I could write on the greatness of America for pages and pages, but I don't think that's what mom had in mind. So, I decided to write it out here.     

Why am I thankful to live in the United States? In one word: Diversity. This melting pot of cultures gives Americans such diversity in everything from food to opportunity to ideas to worship.

 

It's the land of collard greens & hot water cornbread. A place where noodle shops sit next to Jewish delis. A place where Italian grandmothers have passed down recipes from the old country down the road from Mexican immigrants who have introduced us to the brilliance of mole and real tamales. We live in a place of abundance for many and it's no where more evident than in our grocery stores and restaurants. And yes, while I do love to cook and certainly to eat, it's something deeper.

 

I've written before that food is love in many families, like it is in mine. Family meals around holidays bring with them traditions, memories, stories, and laughter. Old family recipes bring with them a sense of the past, the family lineage, even specific loved ones. I love the idea that all different types of families across the United States sit down to such diverse meals, but the sentiments are all so similar. So familiar. I am thankful that as Americans we get a chance to experience so many different cultures.

      

We live in a land where opportunity is diverse as well. Women are held in high esteem - treated as equals with worth and dignity. We live in a land where young boys or girls growing up in poverty can work hard and make different lives for themselves - better lives. No one is stuck in a certain class. No one is forced to stay in a certain space. While it may be difficult, anyone can make their life better with education and hard work. America is a place you can learn, grow, try, fail and succeed no matter your gender or race. And while everything isn't perfect, it's better. Much better. And people are working to make sure it's even better in the future.

 

It is a land with a lot of opportunity for charity and giving. A land of sharing. And while it's easy to see the rich in the media become richer and elite politicians try to sell their "common man" understanding, the truth is that quietly, day-to-day most Americans are generous. They give of their time and money, even at times their lives. Our country was created with this spirit and it continues today. And the giving is as diverse as the people.

 

I see it all the time in our little world - From the neighbor helping the lady next door by shoveling snow or mowing grass to the concerned citizen picking up trash on the side of the road or the call out at church for meals or help with other material needs.  I see it in the charitable causes people choose to champion. Research for particular diseases close to their lives, women's rights and protection, children's rights and protection, animal rights, the homeless, the addicted, the hungry, the arts, the churches ... and the list goes on.  I see it in the proud service of our military, the sacrifice of our fire fighters and police. Those volunteers who spend their lives running shelters and food banks. Americans are giving people to causes they truly believe in. You can look as recently as Sandy and see the money raised, the people from across the US who worked and volunteered, the neighbor helping neighbor stories. I love that about America.

 

One of the greatest privileges of living in the United States is the freedom to worship. There are countries where only one religion (or lack thereof) is allowed. There are countries, even today, where Christians are jailed and even killed for their faith.  It's easy to be hard on the church today.  "Church shopping", hypocrisy, the weakening of the churches and the lack of attendance.  

 

And while some of that may hold true, it's not the whole story.  I actually love that we have a diverse group of churches where you can find a place to worship  - a place to teach your children - a place to join a small group - a place to volunteer where you feel  a sense of family.  There are churches full of exuberant praise from swaying choirs, loud instruments on stages with screens, old hymns sung to organ or piano music and no instruments at all. There are the hand raisers and the frozen chosen. Expository to narrative style preachers. Little white wooden churches sprinkled throughout the Northeastern countryside all the way down to the mega churches in the south. I love the diversity. The freedom. 

    

So whether your Thanksgiving turkey is roasted, fried, grilled, smoked, stuffed or tofu'd, I'm thankful that tomorrow families across this great country of ours will be sitting down and taking time out to be thankful. We have so much to be thankful for.  

 

Happy Thanksgiving!