We are different, but we are free

Published 12:04 am Thursday, November 24, 2011

Today, citizens all across our great country pause to celebrate Thanksgiving Day, a uniquely American holiday.

The holiday conjures up images such as Norman Rockwell’s iconic painting “Freedom from Want.”

The painting depicts a traditional American family celebrating a Thanksgiving Day meal complete with extended family and an enormous turkey.

Email newsletter signup

It’s iconically American.

But it’s also increasing no longer an accurate picture of our country.

The fact is, very few Americans, truly fit the perfect image of a typical American family.

Perhaps no better time exists to consider that than on Thanksgiving Day.

None of us are typical.

We’re all unique creations, each with our own God-given gifts and our own human flaws.

But as Americans, we truly are blessed, nonetheless. Despite our flaws — both personal and as a country — our country is rich in many things and with only a few exceptions we are indeed a country that is free from want.

Our diversity is what often created our in fighting, but it’s also what makes us great.

Despite the sluggish economy, America remains the place in which ingenuity and creativity thrive, a place in which personal expression and freedom of speech are celebrated.

And for all of those freedoms, today of all days, we are truly thankful for all the blessings we have been given.