There is so much hurt, suffering, injustice and unfairness in this world. So much to grieve over. So much to carry--the burden often too great to bear. Little girls gang raped in the Middle East and then sentenced to 90 lashes because their brutal rape dishonored their nation, or someone. Children in many parts of Africa left as starving orphans because their parents were killed in sectarian battles, killed by Islamic fanatics, or because they died of AIDS and unknowingly passed it on to their surviving little ones. And in our own country, children are left behind every day, grow up to drop out of high school only to get tossed in and around the criminal justice system.
And yet, we have so much to be thankful for. In the face of all this suffering and undeserved pain, we, as blessed Americans, have much to thank Providence for bestowing upon us. We, who of our own have done nothing to deserve the freedom, blessings and abundance our forefathers labored to achieve.
We breathe air that is, yes, taxed. Like everything else in this country. And in my location, it's air that is quite polluted. Yet, it's air that is breathed freely, and confidently, sometimes arrogantly, not realizing how much is taken for granted. That we are allowed to, and are encouraged to, attend graduate school. That we can leave the house without worrying if an unattended backpack is an explosive device. We don't worry that rebels will break through our doors and kidnap us. And though our universities are liberal, we still needn't fear that professors might turn us and our unconventional ideas into the authorities.
We have much to be thankful for. And with somewhat heavy hearts, we must give thanks. We have been blessed. But that blessing is not for us to consume irresponsibly so as to become morally obese. It's for us to bless those who have not been as fortunate. Our convenience is to serve those who have no such luxury.
This Thanksgiving, let's remember those in chains. And more than that, let's sign petitions and write letters begging for their release. Let's not only hold the starving orphan in our heart, let's provide what financial resource we can to feed him. And let's flood our political leaders with petitions to sanction countries who would so inhumanely brutalize girls.
Some links to get you started:
Samaritan's Purse is answering the desperate cries in Ethiopia
Egyptian Bloggers recently made political prisoners
Just one of many sites dedicated to attaining equal and at the very least human rights for women in the Middle East.
