I am very thankful today and wish the same for all who read these words.
On a personal level, I’m blessed with a loving wife with whom I have shared a comfortable and occasionally exciting life, three fine sons all of whom are happily married and completely independent from us and who need no real help from the old folks, eight grandchildren who are making their way through decent suburban school systems, and many great and good friends. All of these fine folks are progressing through life with no life threatening diseases or disabilities. As I look on Thanksgivings past, I see myself in the role of the grandfather in Norman Rockwell’s great W.W. II illustration depicting Freedom from Want.
We live in a truly great country under a wondrous system of government. Ever since the buildup to the Iraq War, I have been slamming President Bush and those who surround and support him. Regularly, often more than once a day, I write public pieces on this Blog that slam his policies and that make him out to be an incompetent leader. Daily, I share media reports with my friends that show high government officials to be deceivers and mean spirited people intent on action that I think is detrimental to the interests of the nation. I publicly deplore policies that shift national resources away from the truly needy to those who already have more than their fair share of the goods of life. And regularly I blast captains of industry as heartless and blind to the plight of the truly unfortunate.
Yet very few residents of this great land, including millions of people from other countries - many of whom are here illegally, are truly starving on this holiday of bounty. Government money – federal, state and local – and private charitable donations of time, food and money assure that even the least among us are fed and protected from the elements on this day. Obviously, we could do better and we must do more and must castigate officials and institutions not doing enough, but we and they do much.
For all I do – not the positive work of the saints who actually feed the needy and succor the poor – in yapping at the heels of the mighty, what truly makes America great is that there is no knock on my door in the middle of the night. I sleep without fear of President Bush, of Vice President Cheney, of the CIA and the FBI. I and you can speak the truth as we see it and walk down our street without fear from commissars or brown shirts of any brand.
So today I’ll take time from the things I disagree with to wish all those for whom I usually have no kind words and hope that they too have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Back at them tomorrow!
Blog on!
Wild Bill
