Thanksgiving! It's a God thing!

Happy Thanksgiving to all! This is a great holiday...the first one established by the United States in fact. It is meant to be a time of reflection and thanks where we look at our lives and thank God for all that we have. It is mostly about the turkey and football these days, I suppose, but truly celebrating it requires thanking God for something. Doesn't it?

At any rate, President Obama recently gave his Thanksgiving address. You can find it here. Now, I don't think Obama's critics need a real reason to criticize him. After all, he could say the sky is blue and his critics would criticize him for leaving out the fact that it can also be grey or white depending on the cloud cover. However, I think they have a point in this case. The speech is perfectly fine, filled with all the right platitudes, etc. However, it completely leaves out any mention of God, a divine being, anyone that might possibly offend someone. Therefore, I think the President made a huge faux pas here. After all, George Washington, in his address establishing the holiday in 1789 mentioned God in several ways. Almighty God, glorious being, beneficent author, and the great Lord and Ruler of nations are the examples I can easily pick out of the text. This clearly shows what the holiday was meant to be, a religious one, where people of all faiths should be thanking the creator. I'm sorry for the 1-4 percent of the population (depending on the survey) who claim to not believe in any kind of higher power. Perhaps you can watch football and stuff your face with turkey and ignore what the holiday is supposed to be about, much like a majority of people do with Christmas. Don't believe me about what this holiday really is? Here's the full text of Washington's proclamation.

WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLICK THANSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed;-- for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish Constitutions of government for our sasety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted;-- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge;-- and, in general, for all the great and various favours which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions;-- to enable us all, whether in publick or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us); and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

GIVEN under my hand, at the city of New-York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.

(signed) G. Washington

So, that pretty much says it all, in context. Oh, you think this violates the separation of church and state? Well, our founders clearly did not think that since it is one of the earliest acts this country performed. Besides, the Constitution prohibits Congress from establishing a religion, not from recognizing religious events or holidays. And no, unlike the Supreme Court of the past 50-80 years, I don't think they equate to the same thing. One makes everyone worship as the government sees fit, the other recognizes the importance of religion and religious heritage in life and in the history of this country. At any rate, let's not forget what Thanksgiving is truly about. Giving thanks to the One who created us.

I thank you God for the blessings bestowed upon me and my family. For being able to live in a country that recognizes the importance of faith. For being my guide, my comforter and most importantly my savior through the death of Your son, Jesus, on the cross. Thank you God. Amen.

A message to occupiers -- ALL Americans are the 1 percent.

The U.S. population of about 310 million people is 4.4 percent of the total world population of 7 billion people. This is an interesting statistic, but is even more telling when you reveal that the U.S. also controls 31 percent of the world's wealth. Most Americans aren't poor by the world's standards. In the U.S., poverty is a hardship, but in the rest of the world, poverty is a way of life. I say this, not to condemn America, for we have proven to be one of, if not the, most charitable countries in history, but to condemn those Americans who march and complain about the problems we have here without fully understanding the reality of those problems worldwide. Here is my story:

I was born into a poor family in the U.S, the youngest of three children. Life was hard on my parents growing up but they tried really hard to shield their children from this reality. My parents believe in education and individual responsibility and instilled that in their children, even managing to send all three to college at great sacrifice to themselves.

I was able to go to college and inherit an America better than the one my parents did, largely due to their sacrifices. I worked hard to grow in my life, personally and professionally, trying hard to live by the standards I'd been raised to believe in.

I married a first generation immigrant and rightfully chose to preserve her native language by passing it on to our children. We are a middle class family in America. The housing crisis hurt us and forced us to make sacrifices we would not have chosen otherwise. Fortunately, we live in a country that still values freedom, individual rights and responsibility, capitalism, and the rule of law.

I have been blessed with the ability to travel to several other countries. In doing so, I've seen what real poverty looks like. I grew up in the Washington D.C. area and had friends who had immigrated from countries where they were oppressed. Some of their stories were frightening.

I believe it is our individual responsibility to help others when we can as we see fit. I thank God that we live in America and that a place exists where a person can pursue happiness as they see fit.

I am a Christian...a father...a husband...an American.

I, like ALL other Americans, am the 1 percent.

If you live in America, have a roof over your head, have a car, a television, a phone, have at least one meal a day, have been vaccinated, etc....

then you are the exception worldwide and you too are the 1 percent.

I realize that the U.S. population is 4 percent, not 1, but the Occupiers don't seem to understand that they have little to complain about comparatively speaking. Sure, times are tough here, so imagine how the rest of the world feels. Again, this is to condemn Americans who see their plight and blame others for it rather than placing themselves in proper context, not to condemn America. In fact, I believe America is where it is because of our ideals and imperfections which are surprisingly unique in this world. The world needs this 4 percent if the 96 percent are to have hope for the future.