By Quin Hillyer on 11.22.06 @ 12:09AM
Reasons to make a list -- and, in some choice cases, to leave a few lines blank!
This being Thanksgiving week, it might be a good idea to abide
by the old maxim that if you can't say anything nice about certain
people, then don't say anything at all. Hence, with regard to the
remaining Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives -- who
just suffered a bad election defeat from a public fed up with their
ethics and big spending and, in short with their leadership -- who
last week ignored the public lessons of the election and
obstinately re-elected basically the same leadership team: Please
excuse 12 lines of empty space, which is my way of not saying
anything at all.
Okay, now, as for the radical leftists who make up the
leadership of the majority party in Congress, the Democrats, if I
were to take enough space to say enough of nothing about them, it
would take a whole page of blank space, maybe more -- which is more
than readers should have to endure. So let these two blank lines
represent the pages of nothing that should be said about the
Democratic leadership:
Okay, now we can move on to those things that we Americans have to
be thankful for. Our cup runneth over, to such an extent that we as
a society probably have become so spoiled that we don't even
realize our good fortune. Nevertheless, among the things for which
we should be thankful are:
1. Our heritage of freedom, secured through the mind, character,
bravery and foresight of men such as Madison, Washington,
Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Sherman, Mason, and Wilson.
2. The strongest, most abundant economy in the history of the
world. Don't argue, just look at the numbers on unemployment (low),
inflation (low), productivity (high), wages (growing), interest
rates (low), home ownership (high), home values (high), gas prices
(back within reason), securities ownership (high), securities
values (the highest Dow Jones Industrial Average in history),
average personal net worth (very high), and on and on. Stop
whining; just give thanks.
3. Physical security: other than the bizarre anthrax mailings of
late 2001, not a single successful terrorist attack on U.S. soil
since 9/11. Crime rates that by the standards of the last 50 years
are low. And no conventionally organized military in the world that
can hold a candle to the brave men and women of the U.S. armed
forces, heroes every one of them by very virtue of volunteering to
wear our uniforms.
4. A world with more liberty than at any time in history, which
is the modern legacy of Reagan, Pope John Paul II, Thatcher,
Walesa, Kohl, Havel, and others (including, let us not forget,
Scoop Jackson and political heirs of his such as Lane
Kirkland).
5. The kindness of strangers. While government at the local,
state, and federal levels still fumbles its response to
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the armies of private contributors and
volunteers, especially through churches, have provided effective
and invaluable relief to the people of the Louisiana, Mississippi,
and Alabama coasts. (Exempted from the criticism of government, and
in spirit included in the praise for private entities, are the U.S.
Coast Guard and state and federal Fish & Wildlife departments
whose immediate post-Katrina services were awe-inspiring.)
6. Milton Friedman. His 94 years of life ended last week. The
lessons of liberty he taught will last for lifetimes. R.I.P.
There. That's a good list with which to start. The list could
and should grow much larger. Take a moment and add your own entries
to it. And direct your thanks to the Author of all our blessings,
the Father of us all.
topics:
Military, Oil
