Happy Thanksgiving! (11/26/03)
by Dean Hartwell
Thanksgiving is a day of gratitude. It’s a day to feel good about what we have in a nation that still stands as a model to others. But I also see it as a day of hope for others who are not as fortunate.
I am grateful to be able to read and write. I also hope that the 3% in the United States above the age of 15 who are illiterate will learn to read and write (CIA – The World Factbook).
I am grateful to have the opportunity to go to school. I also hope that others will have the same opportunity.
I am grateful to have a job. I also hope the 6% of people in the United States who are unemployed can find good jobs (U.S. Department of Labor – Bureau of Labor Statistics).
I am grateful for the right to vote. I also hope that we in the United States will exercise this right in next year’s presidential election at a much higher rate than in recent years.
I am grateful to be married to a wonderful woman. I also hope for the day that the United States allows gays to marry.
I am grateful to have the right to speak and publish my opinions. I also hope our leaders keep us free of censorship in the years to come.
I am grateful to have health insurance. I also hope we can find a way to insure the 44 million people in the United States who do not have it (USA Today).
I am grateful that I will go to a feast for Thanksgiving. I also hope that the 3.8 million households that go hungry daily in the United States find the food they need (Food Research and Action Center).
And lastly, I am grateful to you, for being my reader. Happy Thanksgiving!