Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone is having a great week so far.

After living in the US for 20 years, I wanted to reflect a little bit and share what Thanksgiving means to me:

1. I wake up everyday and I am thankful that I live in a country like the United States of America.  I don’t think many people appreciate or understand how good we have it here until they visit and/or live overseas.  I’ve lived in 3 continents – so I know a little bit about this experience.
2. I am thankful that I live in a place where I can express my opinion without fear of persecution.  Anyone can practice their religion without fear of isolation.  I can express my views on politics without fear of going to jail.  I can vote and my vote actually counts. Whether our biggest differences are Democrat or Republican, MSNBC or Fox News, Tea Party or Liberal, Green Party or Independent, the fact that we can express these opinions in blogs and tweets freely, in a civilized manner, and without fear of retribution is a right not enjoyed by many people in this world.
3. I am thankful I live in a country where you can make something out of nothing.  Opportunities are endless and limited only by your imagination and hard work.
4. I am thankful that we live in a country where we take things for granted that others do not, like security, medicine, justice, electricity, water, and the most basics of human rights,
5. I am thankful that I have my health and am surrounded by people who mean the most to me in my life.  Some of us do not have that luxury.
6. I am thankful that I’ve gained the proper knowledge and experience to do what I love most – trading, and be rewarded nicely for my hard work.  And I can share these opinions and ideas with others.
7. I am thankful to the men and women of our armed forces who follow every order and put their lives in danger to protect our lives and liberties.

America is the melting pot of the world.  We come in all sizes, race, religion, gender, expressions, opinion.  But we all have one thing in common: we all love this great country of ours and there is no hurdle that we can not overcome as a nation, in good times or bad.

As the great Abraham Lincoln quoted:

“That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves”

Let us not destroy ourselves.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving everyone!