Thankful To Be an American

by John Comer

As I write this essay, it is Thanksgiving season, and I am especially thankful to be an American. A recent visit to Washington, D.C., reinforced my awareness and appreciation of this blessing from God. For those of us who have lived our lives out in the hinterland, the first visit to Washington can be something of a pilgrimage. Dear friends of ours visited Washington a few months ago and were especially impressed by the Library of Congress and the Jefferson Memorial. These two spots just seemed to speak to them in a special way.

The most impressive, even truly inspirational, thing my wife and I saw in the city came as our son led us from the Capitol building down Pennsylvania Avenue, and we walked up the steps and into the subdued light of the National Archives Rotunda. There before us, almost as if they were elevated upon on an altar in a cathedral, and bathed in the soft glow of their special lighting, were, as the Archives terms them, our Charters of Freedom: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the “Bill of Rights.”

Here are a few lines from the Declaration of Independence:

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration

of the thirteen States of

America, . . .

We hold these truths to be

self-evident, that all men are

created equal, that they are

endowed by their Creator

with certain inalienable

Rights, that among these are

Life, Liberty and the pursuit

of Happiness.

Following the Revolution came the Constitution, which begins:

We the People of the United

States, in Order to form a more

perfect Union . . .

Then to strengthen personal freedom, came the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution, our “Bill of Rights.” The first one begins:

Congress shall make no law

respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free

exercise thereof, . . .

It’s a rare blessing indeed to live in a land with such Charters of Freedom.

The Lord is so good to us. Let’s join together in thanking him.