Be thankful, but remember what we should be thankful for

Frontiersman editorial board

In two days we'll be sharing the holiday table with friends and relatives. Someone will have the traditional honor of carving the Thanksgiving bird, and someone will be asked to say Grace. The holiday prayer will likely be spoken with slightly more gravity than the usual evening prayer. People will attempt to list the many things they are thankful for, and the many things we should all be thankful for.

In many homes the conversation will turn, at some point, to the subject of gratitude and good fortune. Indeed, Americans have much for which to be thankful. Though the economy has been slow for several years, we live in a great deal of comfort. Though many people have gone without jobs for too long, on the whole, we do not suffer from widespread poverty, starvation or disease. Though there has been a greater sense of political polarity in recent years, we continue to enjoy the benefits of democracy.

It is right to be thankful for our good fortune, but perhaps it's not enough to merely be grateful. Gratitude that amounts to frivolity, and thankfulness that comes with a sense of entitlement, are dangerous things to people who wish to maintain their good fortune. The benefits we have enjoyed for so long come with a great responsibility. We are quick to defend our material possessions and our right to the world's resources, even at the risk of lives, but are we truly that dedicated to defend the ideals and principles that have brought us material wealth and technological superiority? Do we even remember what our basic ideals are?

Recently a television commercial defined the American Dream as home ownership. A few months after the 9-11 attacks, Arie Fleischer said part of the American ideal was owning an SUV. It seems the American dream used to be more than those things. In a country where citizens are now identified as "consumers," it is a strong statement when the president, following a devastating tragedy, urges us to quickly get back to the routine of our daily lives -- meaning, get back out and go shopping. We wonder why Americans are receiving the cold shoulder in many countries around the world, and a lukewarm reception even from our staunchest allies. Perhaps it's because the world is disappointed that we seem to have changed our priorities. Our dream somehow ceased to be about grand ideals, and now seems to be about consuming and spending with not only a sense of entitlement, but also a sense of arrogance.

It would be good on this Thanksgiving, if we choose to thank our troops, past and present, for defending our dream, that we also remember what our dream is. It would be good to remember that freedom and affluence come with responsibility -- the responsibility to set an example of integrity and decency that extends to all people, not just the ones selling the things we want.