Giving Thanks for…. 4%

This is Thanksgiving Day in the United States of America. By proclamations of pioneers, framers and Presidents long since past, we have consecrated this final Thursday of November to be a day that we give thanks for all of the persons and things we hold dear to our hearts.

Of course, this started out – and for most Americans continues to be, a time of giving thanks to GOD. From the first Thanksgiving of famous lore to the ones we will have today, we have been grateful for many things.

Topping the list for most is family, friends and the like. Others, who share the mental depth with a standard kiddie pool, may think of toys, big and small. But for me, other than for my relationship with the Lord Almighty (shhhh! That’s protected speech….) I am grateful the most for one thing – 4%.

Four percent, you say? Of what? Is that what you made off your munies last year? I wish… Maybe 4% body fat? HA! One of my cheeks has 4% body fat (not telling which one either…). Four percent APR on your home re-fi? Much better than the ‘70’s for sure, but no…

I GOT IT! Four percent unemployment! Uhhh nope. Haven’t even been in the vicinity of that since the year 3 B.O. (that would be Before Obama. 2005 on the old calendar).

No, the 4% I am talking about is the statistically minuscule chance that I would be born in the greatest country the world has even seen – America! Now, I know how cheesy that sounded, but think about it. If you are a natural born American, there was a 96% chance that you would have been born in another country. Not that being born in countries like England, Canada, France (…well) are necessarily bad, but what of the billions born into true and abject poverty? And I am not talking about American poverty either. Someone square in the middle of the American poverty class (about 10k) would qualify to be in the top 13% of wage earners around the world! Our poverty line – at about $20,000 for a family of 4 – would vault you into the 90th percentile. In some countries, you would be royalty!

And while the basic, and most worthwhile things to be thankful for – life, family, friends – are a universal blessing to most, being in this 4% offers opportunities to add descriptors to the afore mention gifts. The 4% provides us with not only life, but a chance for a good life; not just a family, but a happy, prosperous family; and not just friends, but trustworthy friends. Plus one thing the most of the world still lacks – LIBERTY!!

America is not all wine and roses, far from it, but despite press coverage that might suggest otherwise, it is still the United States that the world turns to for help. It is still America and her Constitution that other counties try to emulate. It is this 4%, that many in the other 96% will move heaven and earth, leave everything they know behind to travel to a land that still holds the promise of prosperity.

So I am grateful to be a part of this 4%, for because of this, I have many more things to be grateful for!