I am thankful for you!

As I sit here after some great taste testing for tomorrow (sorry family, the pies are all delicious, but missing slices), I begin catching up on facebook posts from my friends only to encounter a story from one about some ignorant bigot harassing their family.

It made me stop and appreciate some things.

I am so grateful I live in America. I love that I am privileged to live in a land where the rights of the individual – all individuals – are sacred and where the government was instituted, not to rule the people, but to protect those rights. I love that I live in a republic where the tyranny of the majority is rejected in favor of the liberty of the individual.

I am grateful that I live in a land where you can choose to be straight, gay, bi, trans, gender (insert label) but where we don’t care about the labels, because as a nation we care about the people! I am grateful that we have liberals, conservatives, progressives, libertarians, anarchists, socialists and individualists, because nothing proves we have freedom better than by demonstrating that freedom by expressing your own mind!

I’m glad we have religious people such as Christians, Jews, Buddhists, statists, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and even atheists too. Nothing proves you can believe whatever you want than actually believing whatever you want!

I love that we can disagree, discuss and debate, compromise and work together. Our individual uniqueness (not our group associations or labels) is what makes America amazing!  Be you in all of your glorious individuality!

I do not want a homogeneous society that only thinks like I do, believes what I believe or likes what I like. Except on one important part — we all have to agree that individual rights are paramount or nothing else matters.

If we do not agree on this one thing, then this great experiment in self-governance has failed and we are swiftly headed back into the darkness of tyranny in one form or another.

The political class does not believe this any longer. They do not believe in individual rights or individual worth. They believe in societal rights and obligations. They do not respect the individual nor do they wish to protect the individual. They want to exploit the individual and sacrifice the individual, me or even you for their version of what society should be rather than just letting us all live our own lives as we see fit. True liberty is scary to the political class, because if we govern ourselves, we do not need them.

That is why I am also grateful that the political class lost this past election. If you are an individual – and I know you are. If you want to live your life according to your own values and beliefs – and I know you do. If you want to love who you want to love, say what you want to say, go where you want to go, express yourself in your own unique way – and I am positive you do! Then you too should be grateful that Trump won this past election.  Fear is being created by the political class (establishment politicians) and the chattering class (media) to scare you back into line with their agenda.  But they do not care about you!  They care only about their power and control!

If you are straight or not; if you are white, black, brown, purple, pink or aquamarine; if you are religious or not; if you are political or not; then a return to the founding precepts of our nation – limited government (ie a government limited to protecting your rights) – is exactly what you need! Hillary would have only been a continuation of the erosion of personal liberty to the machinations of the political class while your liberties are further and further eroded.

In closing, I am most of all grateful for all of my wonderful friends who represent so many diverse viewpoints, values and beliefs! You challenge me, help me to grow and convince me even more than we all must protect each others individual rights.

I can promise you if you ever need my help to protect those rights for you and yours, to safeguard your life or theirs, to stand up against tyranny in all of its many forms – I will be here.  I am here. I am grateful that I can stand with you for you! We must all stand together!

Happy thanksgiving to everyone and may it be a truly blessed and wonderful day for you all!