Let Us Give Thanks

Thanksgiving is the time of year when we are supposed to reflect on the bounty with which we have been blessed. As Americans, there is so much to be thankful for and so little to complain about but yet we still look at the glass and complain that it is half empty. With starvation and disease still rampant, with dictatorships and governmental oppression still occurring, with religious zealotry oppressing the right to worship, it is hard to see what we have to be thankful for.

We have people in our land of plenty that will have to stand in line at “soup kitchens” to be served the turkey and cranberries. People that have lost their homes, families, loved ones and all of their worldly possessions will be provided a meal that they can give thanks for on Thanksgiving. Some of those folks will actually be thankful for their meal while some will feel they deserve it because of the life they have been forced to lead. Making bad decisions and refusing to deal with the consequences of the actions resulting from the decisions makes us human and no less deserving of God’s love. It is just painful to see people that have so much talent, so much ability and potential reduced to “begging” when there is so much opportunity in our great land. “I can’t because” becomes an excuse rather than a reason in America. I would love to solve the much greater issue of the world’s hunger problem, but we have yet to solve our own. I can’t.

We have government agencies that feel it is there responsibility to affect people’s lives when the law says something different. Laws will pass by popular vote, some with overwhelming margins, only to have the court system put them on hold or declare them unconstitutional. I’m sorry, the people have spoken and the courts need to stick to what they were put in place for and not try to develop new rules to replace one’s they (the courts) do not like. The Supreme Court needs to stop sticking its nose into matters that are best left to the states. If the Constitution does not provide guidance on a matter, it is left up to the states. Butt out.

We have been denied the ability to pray in school or have manger scenes in town squares. I am trying to find anywhere in the Constitution that it says these things cannot exist. It says separation of church and state, not deny religious freedom. The purpose was to eliminate the possibility of a state sponsored religion not to deny freedom. We are being oppressed by zealots that would refuse us our constitutional rights. When the fundamental tenets that are the cornerstone of our legal system cannot be displayed in a court room due to over zealous citizens finding it objectionable, there is something wrong. Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not commit adultery are fundamental to any moral society. Let’s pray.

So as we give thanks for all the great things in our lives, remember that hunger, oppression and religious freedom are things that we as a nation still struggle to fix. As we look to the holiday season and spending time with families and friends at Christmas, remember that there are people in our world who do not have our opportunities. America is the land of the free and home of the brave, yet we have so much to do. So as you sit down to turkey and cranberries, oh you don’t like cranberries. Well don’t eat them. Your choice.

Icool

Cobb