Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Because Sometimes Americans Must Remember The Government We Share

About a year ago, as I was working with service organizations and university students in Bolivia, I wrote an editorial for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called "American Blessings: Thank you for Democracy, Diversity, Safe Water, and Pancakes." At the time I had no idea how the 2010 elections would turn out. I just knew the things that I'd be missing and valuing most as I reflected on Thankfulness and spent Thanksgiving away from home.

Today I'm still thankful for the things I listed there, and I'm thankful for much more. I'm a bit concerned that some of the rhetoric and partisanship has been so barbed in recent elections that we forget we form a whole. We seem to forget we must cooperate together to continue to achieve great things and excel. What do I mean by that? I'm about to share, one thing a day for the upcoming year. It'll be simple. We go nowhere without one another. We need to work with one another and support one another to move forward. We're a community. We're a country. We share much in common.

Please post your thoughts on things we share that you're thankful for, or things our government provides that you appreciate. My first installment in this blog, after this election, will be one of the most elemental activities our government provides the structure for: the right to vote.

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