Be proud and be thankful

As we gather with family, friends and neighbors today to eat turkey and give thanks, perhaps a little perspective is in order to remind us all we have much to truly be thankful for.

This may seem difficult at a time when a shaky economy and an escalating cost of living is piggybacking on a particular divisive presidential election. Instead, consider the conditions of those who celebrated our nation’s first Thanksgiving nearly four centuries ago.

These pilgrims to a new world faced hardships we can only imagine. Many died establishing what would become the seeds of the greatest free nation in history. And in the end, rather than pout and lament their hardships, they gave thanks.

“The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts,” author H.U. Westermayer wrote in his famous quotation about Thanksgiving. “No Americans have been more impoverished than those who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.”

We follow that tradition still. And while the pressures of modern life can weigh heavily at times, we have much to give thanks for today.

We’re thankful for those first Pilgrims, who set the example for maintaining our positive American spirit of hope.

We’re thankful for those who have come after them to fight for and defend our freedoms and liberties. We’re thankful, too, to their families, who also have sacrificed.

We’re thankful that, whatever your political view, we all can speak freely without fear of reciprocity from an overbearing or dictatorial government. This freedom is so important it’s guaranteed as the First Amendment to our Bill of Rights.

We’re thankful for the adventurous spirit of those who colonized the Valley and Alaska that led to the Last Frontier earning statehood nearly 50 years past. And we’re thankful that independent attitude still drives the growth and development of our young state.

We’re thankful for the good work our local churches, senior centers and food banks do to look out for those in our community who may be less fortunate. They do this year-round with little acknowledgment or fanfare. Today, and every day, they have our thanks.

We’re thankful for our freedom of the press and that the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman has been privileged to exercise that freedom locally since 1947.

There’s so much more for all to be thankful for — families, children, health and home — we could go on for longer than this space allows.

Finally, we’re also thankful for you, our readers. Have a great and safe Thanksgiving.