On this holiday of Thanksgiving, Random Spotter was moved to a deeper sense of gratitude about life in the United States in 2012.  Today is too important a day for anyone to poison it with messages of discontent.  Instead, RS wants to acknowledge a few moments in history that have personal meaning to me.

Barely 10 years after the American Revolution, the political leaders of the time negotiated a document that would be ratified in 1789.  The Constitution was to be a document that embodied collaborative agreement for the protection of citizens’ rights and the advancement of a nation.  Equal parts recognition of the benefits of government and despise for abusive political control, the document they drafted was meant to bind future leaders to this compact to prevent zealous and corrupt individuals from usurping the rights of those they sought to lead.  Our nation has been an example of freedom and political judiciousness for over two hundred years because of their vision, and RS is thankful to them for these foundational efforts.

RS is also grateful for the welcome that this nation has afforded its immigrants, including my parents.  Although immigration policy continues to divide us, the undeniable historical fact is that the United States has never been a nation of closed borders.  Our leaders have sought to create immigration policies that protected our economic and security interests.  Today, we are as diverse as any nation on earth, and millions wish to join our imperfect horn of plenty.  I was born to parents who left their homeland to start life anew in this country, and I have been blessed with freedoms that are recognized as among the greatest in the world.  Our individual and collective journeys have not been easy.  No system is perfect in fairness and performance.  Our systems of religion, government, business are extensions of ourselves, and we all have our failings.  But Random Spotter is grateful for the miraculous ability of the human animal to recognize that so much more can be achieved when we roll up our sleeves to make our goals a reality.  In so doing, we continue to build a society of opportunity.

I am grateful for this Thanksgiving meal with family, the opportunity to work and make a living, the security that I enjoy when I walk down a city street, and the future I see in my mind for those who will follow.  I won’t deny our deficiencies, but we can discuss flaws tomorrow.  Today, Random Spotter will focus on the good things in life.