It's a privilege, NOT a right...

My daddy used to love the phrase "it's a privilege not a right" when I was growing up... in terms of getting a new car, driving the new car, going places so on and so forth.

So yesterday in class, my favorite professor of all time (I mean honestly, she's up there with my 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Ewer... the woman is seriously off the charts smart, so sweet and can teach anyone ANY thing!) made the statement about how thankful she is that here in the United States, despite all of the nonsense going on, we have so much to be thankful for.

We don't have armed soldiers roaming our streets, massive riots of rebel groups trying to over throw our government... people can publicly worship the god of their choosing without fear or arrest or torture... there are still laws that most people follow and that are enforced... so on and so forth.

She continued on with how she doesn't know why she was so fortunate to be born here, but she's so thankful she was. That got me thinking about how I so take for granted the freedoms that have required so much sacrifice to obtain and maintain. She's right... it is an unbelievable how fortunate we are to be native Americans (no pun intended). If you look at all of the people who have risked and some who have ultimately lost their lives in a desperate attempt to make it to the most wonderful country on earth.

We are from and live in a nation that is full of possibility, opportunity, safety (relatively speaking) and the potential to allow a person to be all they want to be if they are willing to put the effort into it. The American dream truly is that... a dream, that through hard work and the gift of being here, is absolutely obtainable.

"There is nothing wrong with American that can't be fixed by all that is right with America..."