Thanksgiving

How many bloggers are blogging about Thanksgiving today? Not particularly original. Can anything more be said about thankfulness, gratitude, or appreciation?

Years ago I heard Maya Angelou speak at a conference; national teachers' conferences or other academic groups like to get keynote speakers like Angelou. I'm pretty sure it was her "sugar stick" (an old term preachers would use about their best, most practiced, most likely to bring 'em down the aisle sermon). I am not a big fan of Angelou; I've always thought she was a product of her own imagination. But she said something I thought was very profound that day. "The most fundamental of all virtues is courage." She made a good argument fthat all other virtues are made possible by courage, and I'm still inclined to agree. But the other day I read a quote by Cicero, "Gratitude is the most basic of virtues and the one from which all others come."

So who is right? I think Angelou is right in terms of public virtues, and Cicero is right in terms of private, and spiritual, virtue. This is to say I need more of both.

But today I'm thankful that:
1. My son arrived home from college safely.
2. We could celebrate with steaks for dinner.
3. I have five days off to write and study.
4. My mother is still alive and spending Thanksgiving with us.
5. For a job I enjoy.
6. For this country, which despite the liberal media's views, is not run by Nazis and is based on a legal system that will not allow it (and I hope people who will not allow it).

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