Americans have many reasons to give thanks
As we prepare to be with our families and celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow, we should pause for a moment of reflection.
Thanksgiving is an annual reminder that our lives are so full of opportunities and so free of many basic needs. The simple things in life we all require to survive – food, shelter, clothing – are all enjoyed by almost every Warren County citizen.
Few of us are hungry. Few of us are cold and without a comfortable place to sleep. Few of us are without an adequate home.
These are things we can certainly be thankful for as hundreds of Warren County soldiers are on their way to Iraq to fulfill their duties with the National Guard. These fine Americans will often be without luxuries we take for granted in order to help preserve our greatest resource as Americans – freedom.
These soldiers, some of them middle-aged, won’t be able to pick up the remote to turn on the TV. The refrigerator won’t be five steps away.
They will be thrown into the middle of a battlefield. Their lives will be at risk with every passing moment.
We can give thanks our National Guardsmen have received the best training this country has to offer. And we will be able to give much thanks upon their safe return home to their families.
In the United States we have many blessings. Instead of worrying about enough to eat and struggling to gain enough nourishment just to survive, most of us count calories and try not to eat too much. This is a problem we are so very fortunate to have.
In other countries, people fight over dry pita bread that’s not even buttered. In other parts of the world, children don’t have the luxury of shoes and wear clothes which aren’t much more than what we would call rags.
As we sit down tomorrow for what will be a table loaded with food for most, and an afternoon free of work relaxing on the couch, we should realize what a good life we enjoy on Thanksgiving and every day of the year.
And for those who are not as fortunate here in Warren County, we’ve also reached the time of year where the holiday season is about to begin. There is an abundance of local charities gearing up to accept contributions.
Another great thing about living in America is we have no shortage of families who are capable of giving. We have a tremendous number of middle class people.
In other countries, there are a few select families who enjoy tremendous wealth and the rest of the people are doomed to live a life of poverty. There is not enough of a support system to help keep all these families afloat.
Fortunately, that is not the case here and fortunately Americans and Warren countians have been generous with their donations in the past.
Share A Christmas Dinner has already started taking donations for what organizers here at the Standard anticipate will be yet another successful year.
The program, now over two decades in existence, has helped countless Warren County families better enjoy the holidays. Over the last three years alone, Share has provided a warm Christmas meal to more than 1,500 local families.
As its name suggests, Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful and the holiday season, as always, is a time of giving. We should take the time – if not more than just a few moments – to remember our many blessings. And if possible, we should remember the spirit of giving is worthwhile all year round.