Happy Thanksgiving, America!

Conservative, liberal, occupier, tea partier – it’s time to take a break and be thankful. I wrote the editorial below two years ago from Bolivia, before our politics reached their current impasse. I believe the main thesis still holds. That is, despite the historical inaccuracies and current political debates, Thanksgiving’s function of getting us to pause and consider the things for which we should be thankful – is extremely important. I’m thankful for my family, my friends, my health, and the rights that came along with the place I was born. Here’s the original Post-Gazette editorial, reprinted in its entirety. 

If you agree with the sentiments below, please forward and re-post. If you have additional sentiments you'd like to add, please do so in the comments section below. Thanks for reading and commenting.   

American blessings: Thank you for democracy, diversity, safe water and pancakes

COCHABAMBA, Bolivia -- A friend from Singapore once told me that if he ever got the chance to visit the United States he wanted to have an American breakfast at a truck stop at 4 a.m. He managed to gather into one wish unique aspects of American life -- waffles for breakfast, work around the clock (where else are there so many 24-hour truck stops and diners?) and wide-open spaces.
As I celebrate Thanksgiving this year with a group of American students and their host families in Bolivia, I'm taking a moment to consider what we all should be thankful for in the United States of America.

Water

The vast majority of Americans can drink tap water in their homes. This is a daily miracle. Nearly one billion people around the world (that's more than three times the U.S. population) do not have access to safe water. And most people who do have safe water do not have it flowing into their homes.

Public education

The effort to provide high-quality public education is nearly as old as the country, although not everyone has benefited equally from a system that remains subject to continuous debate. And it should provoke argument -- education can make or break a country. Still, the message is clear: Countries that invest in their people flourish economically and are more likely to support democracy and respect individual freedoms.

Work ethic

People work hard just about everywhere. My first impression of Africa was that everyone was moving crops, hauling water, selling, buying or otherwise exerting themselves. But our culture values work to the point that we've produced an entire genre of self-help literature aimed at curing workaholism. Hard work yields dividends; see "Contemporary China."

Democracy

Our system of government protects individual rights, checks government power and encourages fair play. James Madison addressed the issue in "The Federalist Papers": "If men were angels, no government would be necessary ..." We've enabled human freedoms to the fullest extent possible while acknowledging human limitations. I see too much corruption in my work around the world. It's helpful to remember that good behavior is built with institutional effort over time. We need reminders of this from time to time, too, as money does infect our politics and abuses regularly crop up in the private sector. See "Financial Crisis."

Open spaces

Stop reading. Go west. Breathe in Dwight D. Eisenhower's unique achievement -- the American interstate system. Zip past fields of sunflowers in Kansas. Grab a six-pack and hang out with rural Nebraska kids as they float up and down on the backs of oil pumpjacks, drinking and talking about eight-man-football as the sun drops below the plains. Then, somewhere in the soaring Rockies, throw a tent and sleeping bags into the back of a pickup and drive a full day over dirt roads deep into one of our national forests to camp.

Diversity

America has created an imperfect but highly accomplished multicultural democracy to an extent unmatched elsewhere and unparalleled in history. This is a beautiful thing. Strong societies are adept at incorporating and adapting ideas from other cultures. America becomes more diverse and therefore more dynamic every single day.

Volunteer military

The United States military is the strongest ever known. One reason is that our service men and women enlist voluntarily. War is horrible, profoundly complicated and, as it should be, often controversial. But never should we fail to honor the men and women who volunteer to keep us safe and serve at the direction of our elected officials.

Pancakes, etc.

For a country so rich in history, we're poor in unique culinary traditions. But sweet, syrup-topped, simple and affordable pancakes and waffles -- these are ours. Burgers made with ground beef, which for some inexplicable reason are hard to recreate elsewhere, are American magic. And, of course, in multicultural America one can find fine foods and culinary traditions from almost any corner of the world, anytime.

Philanthropy

The governments of other developed countries spend a greater portion of their budgets on social welfare at home and abroad. But Americans give from their own pockets in a way that is unmatched elsewhere. Individual involvement has led to the creation of thousands of small and mid-size nonprofit organizations like the one I direct. While smallish organizations cannot address all issues for everyone, they can be responsive to the real lives and concerns of the people they serve.

Ideals

American ideals are tied up with the notion that we always can do better. We continue to build a better society. We work to redress the excesses of past generations. Now, for instance, we seek to make our society more environmentally sustainable. We continue to work toward expanding individual human freedoms in our own country and around the world.

For these things and much more, we Americans should be profoundly thankful. Throughout history, few peoples have had the opportunity to experience long lives. Few peoples have had the opportunity to debate the pros and cons of their would-be leaders in advance of free and fair elections. Few peoples have been able to hop on a motorcycle and cruise across a continent on well-manicured roads, stopping at truck stops at any hour of the day or night to find good food and fast service.

I am thankful to be an American in the world today. We have a lot of problems. We have a lot of disagreements. We create injustices. We mess up and fail.

But on Thanksgiving Day, pause. Be thankful for the broad contours of this American reality. Tomorrow we can get back to work.