(Revised because apparently trying to write a thoughtful blog while suffering from sleep deprivation and a the Flu makes for a bounty of spelling errors and disconnected thoughts. Sorry about that.)
This weekend I was enjoying the crisp Fall air’s effect on my mind and body. It was quintessential Autumn: the heavy grey sky was filled with the smell of wood fire and the sound of geese flying overhead while leaves crunched beneath my feet. And, for no particular reason whatsoever, I thought of Thanksgiving and how long it had been since I took stock of that for which I am thankful.
At first, there were the obvious things: my health, my friends and girlfriend, to be employed in a time of turmoil, to have a roof and clothes and food, etc. And then I gave unexpected thought about my ‘luck’ to be an American. As it was, only a few days earlier our nation had overwhelmingly elected a young, relatively inexperienced, idealistic Senator from Illinois the 44th President of the United States of America.
Against all odds, this young man inspired a nation of people to believe in the possibility of change. He stood before crowds of American faces and said, in defiance of all that was occurring, that change was possible. And we, inspired by his selfless words, pinched ourselves -and upon realizing that we were not dreaming- dared to believe, too. We each brought our respective dream: a stop to the endless war, a solution to our ocean of debt, a way out of the putrid status quo quaqmire, a cessation to the wanton deterioration of our inalienable rights, a halt to the outright pillage of our Liberties and freedoms, and a reclamation of our name as a people of uncompromising determination and unparalleled goodness.
What amazed me most, however, was not the candidate -but our nation. This man stood up and damned the President, the Congress, the Oil companies, the Lobbyists, the Health care System, the War, the Economy, the apathy and neglect of the collective American concisousness. This man did this and became the President of our nation.
I ask you, what other nation on Earth? What other people? Here’s a short list of places where such actions have resulted in death or imprisonment: Tibet, Georgia, Thailand, and Bosnia-Hervagovnia. And so, in this time of Thankfulness, I offer you my friend: Henry David Thoreau’s essay, Resistance to Civil Government, more commonly known as Civil Disobedience. You can read it HERE, where it has been thoughtfully annotated and broken down into three parts.
I leave you with one of the most profound and thought provoking introductions ever penned:
I heartily accept the motto,—“That government is best which governs least;” and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which I also believe,—“That government is best which governs not at all;” and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have. Government is at best but an expedient; but most governments are usually, and all governments are sometimes, inexpedient.
For what are YOU thankful?
