Thankful for living in the USA? You should be.

This past holiday was one of giving thanks. Thats why we call it “Thanksgiving” Day. However, very few Americans know what the true meaning of the holiday is. Many of us look at this day as a 4 day week end or a day for football and eating lots of turkey and other traditional thanksgiving day fair. We don't stop to think about what this holiday really is about and what we should be thankful for.

Here is a brief history of how the very first Thanksgiving Day came to be and how it was celebrated and who celebrated it.

The early settlers of Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts were particularly grateful to Squanto, the Native American who taught them how to catch eel, grow corn and who served as their native interpreter (as Squanto had converted to Christianity and learned English as a slave in Europe). Without Squanto's assistance, the settlers might not have survived in the New World.
The Plymouth settlers (who came to be called "Pilgrims") set apart a holiday immediately after their first harvest in 1621. They held an autumn celebration of food, feasting, and praising God. The Governor of Plymouth invited Grand Sachem Massasoit and the Wampanoag people to join them in the feast. Evidence to support that claim came from diaries of citizens of Plymouth. The settlers fed and entertained the Indians for three days, at which point some of these natives went into the forest, killed 5 deer, and gave it to the Governor as a gift.*

As you can see, this holiday was indeed a holiday giving thanks to Almighty God above for his provision and you can also see that the Native Americans of the day, helped in that celebration and in fact contributed to the festivities. They did not protest. They did not picket. They did not denounce anyone on this day. The Settlers and the Natives both sat together, ate together, gave thanks together and celebrated together. Are you getting the theme here? Togetherness.

This day has been celebrated for a long time in our country's history. In fact, President Lincoln was not the first US President to celebrate the day. Here is a brief history of how this day came to be a part of our national heritage.

The first official Thanksgiving Proclamation made in America was issued by the Continental Congress in 1777. Six national Proclamations of Thanksgiving were issued in the first thirty years after the founding of the United States of America as an independent federation of States. President George Washington issued two, President John Adams issued two, President Thomas Jefferson made none and President James Madison issued two.

In 1789 Washington designated a national thanksgiving holiday for the newly ratified Constitution, specifically so that that the people may thank God for "affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness" and for having "been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed..."

After 1815 there were no more Thanksgiving Proclamations until the Presidency of Lincoln, who made two during the Civil War. He declared Thanksgiving a Federal holiday as a "prayerful day of Thanksgiving" on the last Thursday in November. Since then every U.S. President has always made an official Thanksgiving Proclamation on behalf of the nation. President Franklin D. Roosevelt set the date for Thanksgiving to the Fourth Thursday of November in 1939 (approved by Congress in 1941) *

So you see, Thanksgiving is a day, from the beginning that was set aside to thank God for His provision in many ways for this nation. But some of you may still think that none of this has anything to do with today. After all this is the new millennium. Its the year 2007. Surely all of that nonsense has no meaning for today. Well you would be dead wrong.

Now what should every American be thankful for? I have a short list for you to consider. First and foremost, you were born and/or live here. This is by far the greatest and most free nation on the face of the planet. No other country can say they have just about every nationality living here. No other country can claim to be the destination of so many looking for freedom and opportunity. NO OTHER NATION!

The United States of America has the best road system in the world. The best medical care system in the world. The most opportunity for everyone in the world no matter what your station or class in society. The USA has the most personal and political and religious freedom on the planet. We have arguably the best political system in the world. We have the best lifestyle bar none.

I did not say we as a nation are perfect. I also did not say we as a nation are the best at everything. We do have room for improvement in just about every facet of our country. However, there is not a country on the planet that has the will, determination and mechanism to improve itself more than the good ol' US of A.

Now before you pick up the sign and degrades your own freely elected leaders, think about how many nations don't have that freedom. Before you stuff your face with that turkey, think about how many nations don't have that luxury. Before you degrade your own country, think about how many people risk their lives to get here.

Yet you are here. You live here. Most likely you were born here or have a relative that was born here. How lucky can you be. In a world with more than 6 billion people, only 300 million are lucky enough to call this nation home. I think that is a whole lot to be thankful for.