Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Freedom.


I went to bed last night thinking about why I am grateful to live in America. There are the obvious reasons, of course, but I was thinking of the things that REALLY matter to me. Here are a few things I came up with:
1. I can leave my house without fear. I mean, never do I have to worry about insurgents or suicide bombers. I can let my kids play outside. I have the freedom to come and go as I like.

2. I am valued as a woman. I can vote. I can earn a living. I can get health care. I am not less important than men.

3. I can think and speak as freely as I like. I can worship freely without retribution from my government.

4. I am free to earn a living. If I am willing to work hard, I can live a very comfortable life. My kids have beds to sleep in; I have access to safe food and water. Our kids can get an education and make something of their lives, too.

What things are you grateful for?

8 comments:

Lorz said...

I am grateful that I can listen to what I want, wear what I want, and eat what I want. Yes, it's the simple things for me. :) Although, I agree, if I compare myself to some areas of the world, I feel incredibely safe here in America!

Lorz said...

incredibly

MindiJo said...

Thank you for this post. It just saved me from being really bitter about one comment that was left on mine.

See? This post is exactly why we should be proud and happy to be American.

Amen, sista! You nailed it.

MindiJo said...

Love the pic you chose!! Perfect.

Katie said...

Yes, the simple freedoms are the best.
I'll second all of Laura's and add, I can say what I want, and write what I want. :)

Julie said...

Awesome, Leanne!

I'm grateful that God has never forsaken us and our basic needs are always met.

I'm grateful that people would really spare their lives in order that we might all continue to enjoy our freedoms.

I'm grateful that we live in a country where if we hope for a better tomorrow, there's a chance that it actually may happen.

I really like m&m's and am so indebted to the guy who invented them.

Elizabeth Halt said...

This is interesting to consider .. I can think of things that I am grateful for, but then I consider that they would be true in many other countries, so are not really specific to America. I am happy to live here, but I would be equally as happy to live in many other places, so perhaps this is not a good question for me.

Then again .. I am grateful for freedom of speech, even though it means that there are people for whom I wish that freedom was revoked (LOL), and I do think that America is better at that than most countries. :)

Anonymous said...

I am thankful for all that you mentioned and the things other's have mentioned. And I giggled at Julie's m&m thankfulness.

Good one Julie. :)

Feeling safe, having the freedom of speech, and freedom to practice the religion of our choice are all things we should never take for granted. Such a great reminder!