It’s the week of our Thanksgiving Day holiday. Depending on who you talk to, it is either an American tradition to give thanks for the blessings God has given us, as individuals, families, and as a Nation, or…it’s a day and a tradition and a Deity to be scorned and ridiculed and tossed into the dustbin of history with all of the other hateful, genocidal things our country has done to the rest of the world.

So…in the spirit of the holiday: I am thankful for my life, for my family and friends, for my dogs and the unconditional love they give me, and for the fact that I was born an American. If celebrating these blessings and chowing down on some really good food annoys those bleeding heart, liberal, progressive social justice warriors who live in a state of perpetual outrage, perhaps we should do it more than once a year, a?

The Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.

And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy. Max Ehrmann