Freedom from Danger
Despite instability around the World, Americans still have much to be Thankful for
While we see headlines about skirmishes, tensions, and even wars on the other side of the world, we ought to be reminded of how geographically removed we are from those conflicts. America’s greatest strength for more than a century has been, and always will be, our geography. Protected by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west, the United States has perhaps the greatest natural defense barrier that any nation has ever had in the history of human civilization. The protection provided by these oceans to the United States from any hostile Eurasian power has proved itself time and time again in a way that has kept our homeland safe from Eurasian conflicts. On top of all that, the United States has more than 5 thousand nuclear weapons, thus ensuring that any hostile power cannot attack our homeland without risking its complete annihilation. Thus, as long as any of us are alive, there will likely never be a military attack on the American homeland.
Beyond the protection that two oceans and our strategic defenses provide, the United States also has another monstrous advantage- our two militarily weak and largely friendly neighbors. While many of us may have our differences with both Canada and Mexico, in particular with the current left-wing administrations governing both nations, the overall relationship between the three nations is completely void of military hostility as all three North American countries tend to prioritize what unites us, rather than what divides us. Both Mexico and Canada, but especially Canada, are, like the United States, the products of centuries of immigration, first from Europe but now increasingly from elsewhere. This dynamic has created three societies where the many centuries-old tribal grudges still manifested on the Eurasian and African continents have softened into what I will call the great North American melting pot.
Finally, we in the United States ought to be thankful that after years of energy dependency on Venezuela and the Middle East, the United States became in 2017 a net exporter of natural gas and in 2020 a net exporter of oil. With oil and natural gas still essential to our functioning as a society, we can most certainly sleep easy knowing we will never again be vulnerable to the blackmail of a rogue dictator. Contrast our situation with that of Europe. Following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Europe became a victim of Russian energy blackmail, and the European economy thus needed to be rescued by natural gas from the United States. While many of us have concerns about the environmental impacts of these policies, we can clearly see that unlike in many poorer countries, the skies above America are blue, the air quality is relatively healthy, and much of the breathtaking American West is still protected from development for all eternity.
In conclusion, I will take you to World War 2, when Saturday Evening Post illustrator Norman Rockwell painted his “four freedoms” depicting the virtues of American life as horrific conflict was raging overseas. These paintings, intended to boost the morale of the nation during challenging times, have since become iconic depictions of how lucky we really are. One of them, entitled Freedom from Want, depicts an American family enjoying the abundance of a Thanksgiving turkey. Fast forward 80 years, and Rockwell’s painting of the blessings of America still has the same message that it did during the depths of World War 2. Thus, on this Thanksgiving season, we should all truly be thankful that we live in the United States of America. There truly is no place more secure from external threats on the whole Planet Earth.
Photo Credit- Saturday Evening Post