Ten Things To Be Thankful For

1. Freedom: How do you think Occupy Wall Street would fly in China or the Middle East? Freedom of religion, free press, and the right to bare arms is not tolerated in most other nations of the world either.
2. Peace: We are only experiencing because we went looking for it in some other part of the world. It's not knocking at our door like it is in many other nations.
3. Wealth: Yes, unemployment is high but the poor in our nation enjoy a far better way of life than the poor in other countries. You do not see poor Americans lining up at our boarders looking to leave but how many poor people from other parts of the world would love to come to America?
4. Education: It is easy to criticize a system whose test scores pale when compared to many other countries. However, no other nation provides a free education to as many children from as many diverse backgrounds as we do.
5. Celebrity: We worship it, strive for it, and love to bash it all at the same time. Without it and those who achieve it, just think how miserable we would be without all the distractions it provides us.
6. Debate: Sure, our candidates lie, get their facts wrong, and sometimes just draw a blank when called upon. However, we at least get to make our candidates sweat before deciding who we want to run the country.
7. Black Friday: American consumerism at its best and worst depending on your shopping desires. It does give us a great chance to score some great deals even if we have to wait all night in the cold for stores to open but for many, that beats watching another football game.
8. Competition: Americans love it in all forms. Yes, it leads to scandals, questionable decision making, and creates a lot of stress. Still, it is what keeps this country continually moving forward in search of new ways to remain relevant and influential far beyond our borders.
9. Justice: Lawyers may be among the most despised people in our country for the way they twist and manipulate the law but our justice system has a way of getting far more right than it gets wrong. It's just that when it fails, it makes headlines.
10. Information: Today, we have more information at our fingertips than all the libraries in the world held twenty years ago. Our minds should never have to be idle unless we choose to shut them down.