![americans](https://static-asset.amac.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/28064303/dreamstime_m_128736973-1.jpg)
Sometimes words like birds lift our spirits. They come and go, words by the meter, birds at the feeder. As December arrives, with so much to do, it is worth Americans saying “Thank you.”
“For what?” you may ask. A year of political quarrels and mixed elections, Chinese and Russian escalations, disappointed expectations, high inflation, and agitation? Well, yes, in a sense. The winter sun is closer to the horizon, casting shadows that obscure our blessings.
If disharmony and insecurity burden the heart, where do you start? What exactly do Americans have to say “thank you” for? Well, let me tell you.
Nowhere in the world is the right to define our destiny, be what we want, who we want, where we want, with whom we want, any day we want, for as long as we want – as great as in America.
Yes, we are stressed by domestic aggravation and envious foreign powers – but we are still America. If we can appreciate what we have and understand the context, defending it gets easier.
At home, our economy is heavy with debt and post-COVID regret, but keep perspective. We are the world’s most powerful engine and a leader in patents and Nobel Prizes. We redefine prosperity, from iPhones to drones and life-enhancing advances from medicine to transportation. That is us.
Our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) blows all others away, at $23 trillion. China is two, barely $17 trillion. Our GDP per capita is $66,289. China’s is $12,556.
Our military struggles with readiness, accountability, and wokeness, but it too outclasses the world. The annual defense budget tops $800 billion, with China’s $293 billion. We have 11 aircraft carriers, 68 nuclear submarines, 4,000 military aircraft, 900 attack helicopters, 6000 tanks, 113 warships, and 6000 nuclear weapons.
By contrast, China has two operational carriers, 200 nuclear weapons, less than 1500 combined fighters, bombers, and helicopters. While they aim for dominance, we already have it.
All this is really secondary. America is not America on numbers but on the heart. We are not good because we are strong. We are strong because we are good. We get pelted by round-the-clock news, riled by acts of depravity, but that is not how most Americans think, act, or are. They care.
Most Americans are aware freedom means responsibility, and civil rights mean civic duties. Nothing is “free,” even the COVID largess and loan forgiveness gimmicks cost. We are told to dismiss our commonality, adopt hostility, and divide like amoebas. But do not buy that either.
Truth is we have more in common with each other than with anyone in the world, we Americans. We are different, not bound by breed, creed, color, or exclusivity – but by ideals, a novel notion. They keep us as one if we treat them with respect. They are all we need and have ever needed.
Most Americans pull in one direction, hundreds of millions bound by unblinking faith in a loving God, timeless Constitution, and shared resolution – that America is unique. We are neither an accident nor fiction, but a proven mover of all Mankind, built on risk and sacrifice.
Our standard of living – for education, work, housing, medical care, and savings – lead the world, even if critics prefer jousting to honoring our history. Why do you think the world tries to get here?
America is what progress looks like – always has been. The horse became a train, car, plane, and rocket, each generation briefly thinking all this is inevitable, until learning it is not. The magic of America is “us,” millions of like-minded individuals, not government or media elites.
Yet here we are – this incredible nation of dreamers and doers, those who imagine things and make them happen, propelled by history’s invisible wind – not sure if we should be grateful.
Here is the incontrovertible truth. I have fallen asleep in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Laos, Colombia, Bolivia, India, former Soviet Union – all interesting. We are blessed to awake in America, call this nation our home, and rest our head each night in a place of peace and hope, no mortars, midnight knocks, or constant fear.
So, even on days when we are frustrated, sick, slow, low, irritable, achy, distracted, dismayed, discouraged, disappointed, or disjointed in thought, we are still luckier than most humans who have ever lived. We are blessed to live in America.
We easily forget what life might be, which slows our “thank you” for what life is. While challenged to defend liberty, we are not oppressed by a theocratic, autocratic, communist, fascist, or nihilist government, not battling war’s misery and endless loss. Not right now.
We awake in a place that most would risk everything to call home, everything. We have rights, opportunities, work if we want it, and options if we pursue them. And we have a history – an empowering, hopeful, proven, exceptional, and unparalleled history.
It’s like a lamp in the night, offering light if we appreciate it and turn it on the future. This why we stop to say, “thank you,” or should as the year closes. This year was imperfect. It included pain, regret, mistakes, and goals unmet, but that is not what matters.
What matters is that we breathe free air in the strongest, most prosperous, generous, unblinking nation in the world – defined by all of us and those who preceded us. That we have these freedoms is enough for “Thank you.”
Sometimes, it is just nice to breathe a bit easier – recalling in the hubbub that words like birds are real and lift our spirits. They come and go, words by the meter and birds at the feeder – but they matter. So, as we rocket into December, just remember to say, “Thank you.” I do.
this is not directed at anyone in particular but please hire someone to proofread these articles before they are sent out three specific “boo-boos’ in this article alone make it hard to figure out
what is meant
Amen…. We may whine, grouse, and disagree on a lot of things (that’s our right) but we’re still Americans and blessed by God to be so. Bobby Charles, you nailed it.God Bless America.
Thank you America – for our Constitution, may you always remain in complete effect – and for our Founding Fathers who wrote the Constitution, realizing what could happen to America if it were not in Black and White!
GOD Blessed America and still does and always will.
And once a soldier always a soldier.
Let us not forget that the Founding Fathers of our country risked their lives for our freedoms, they were soldiers of freedom.
We are their children.
We live in their Grace and God’s Grace today.
God Bless
I thank everyone that has ever put forth an effort to our independence, liberties and freedoms!
It’s appalling to where our country is headed with wokeness, attacking our children with demented ideologies and critical race theory. I hope and pray that government leadership that is in place right now will ultimately be ousted in a very short time. We are on the wrong track of biblical truths.
Thanks for reminding us of the gratitude we should all cultivate! And never forget that God gave us the greatest gift ever on Christmas day whether you believe in Him or not, His gift of love is for all!
Amen ????
Excellent article.
Yes, we are still a very fortunate country, full of very good people. There is no denying that Biden and his cohorts are doing their best to weaken the USA on a daily basis. There is no denying that we are on the path to destruction, unless we change our course. However, compared to the rest of the world, we still are number one, not only in wealth and power, but also individual freedoms and opportunities. Most days I pray that our country will become more unified, and every day I thank God for all of our blessings.
Very thoughtful article, Mr. Charles. Thank you for writing it. If we as a nation can bring back prayer into our schools, provide greater support for families, and pray for hard hearts to change and for Almighty God to heal our land, we’ll have even more to be thankful for. May God continue to bless our country.
Thanks Charles. All of this good news (for which I am grateful) will merely speed up Biden,s
immigration factory so that by , say 2030, at least half of the world will live here. Why is no one
interested in Canada ? too cold ?
We tend to focus on the issues… which we need to do with an intent to make ourselves better than before. But Thank You for the reminder of how much we already have.
Me too!