Happy Thanksgiving

In this, the season of our discontent, we are reminded of why we should be thankful.  At the top of the list is that we live in America.  Whether our progenitors arrived on the Mayflower or were among one of the later waves of immigrants, we should be grateful just to be here.

Those of the first generation in their family to be American borne grew up with the stories of what was suffered and why their parents and grandparents traveled thousands of miles for the privilege of starting over.

Perhaps the delusional and deluded mobs who call themselves occupiers never  heard those stories. Maybe no one thought it was important to retell them.

It is almost certain that no college course informed them that, current dislocations not withstanding, “Americans at the very bottom of the income scale are still richer than most of the rest world: That is, the typical person in the bottom 5 percent of the American income distribution is still richer than 68 percent of the world’s inhabitants.”

So they don’t know how fortunate they are not to be among the 68%.

Finally, politics and economics aside, we need to be grateful for what no government can provide; the love of family and friends who enrich our lives and are the true measure of our wealth.