In general I am dimly aware of this gratitude, but on Monday, with the Ferguson non-decision decision handed down, I have been resoundingly reminded to not to take these blessings for granted.
I am beyond grateful for my values and clarity of mind that allow me to see things for what they are and not simply what I want them to be. The facts, the evidence in this case are fairly plain as these things go. It is not a good thing that a young man was killed, but any objective look at the situation reveals that the outcome, while tragic, can be primarily blamed on Michael Brown. Circumstance also played a role, but it was not the deciding factor.
I am perfectly comfortable with the grand jury's decision, and I have no problem supporting officer Wilson and his decisions. If I'm a cop, or even a private citizen, and someone grabs for my gun, all bets are off. If they get away and come at me a second time, I'm putting them down. Period.
So that's it for me. No doubt, no drama. And for that I am filled with gratitude. I am so, so, SO happy that I am a conservative, and that my brain is not clouded by the kind of emotion driven dogma that grips both the elites and the poor who have been duped into a lifetime of dependence on the state.
I am content to recognize that I am not the one with the problem. The citizens of Ferguson (and make no mistake it IS people that live there) have decided they would rather burn their city to the ground, that is - mostly businesses that are minority owned - rather than face up to the uncomfortable truth.
And so, I have no beef. No axe to grind. Good luck with that folks.
I am staying off of racebook this week, I have seen far too much fall out with other people being de-friended by liberal antagonists, who let emotion take over and lash out. I'm staying out of it because I love my friends and I really don't care too much about this case; but I'm grateful for this blog which allows me in no uncertain terms to state my opinion on the matter, plainly and truthfully.
It is sadly and with no joy that I say, Michael Brown got exactly what he deserved.
EDIT:
Well I spoke too soon and broke down, after the 10th or so post I read that someone was "de-friending" someone else for being "racist". I posted this to everyone... hopefully it is respectful enough that I won't get the ol' de-friend myself.
I refuse to de-friend any of you, regardless of your opinion on this Ferguson thing.
Opinions are just opinions, and clearly there are a lot of them here on all sides of a very complicated situation. No matter what you think or feel, you are entitled to express your views and you won't get any shaming or name calling from me.
With that said, truthfully, I am reluctant to share my views here - because of all the vitriol that I've read from both sides. It makes me sad that people can't speak their minds without being called racist, a very hurtful term that is more often than not overused these days to the point where it ceases to have any real meaning and greatly diminishes actual incidents of it.
I would hope that everyone, regardless of where they come down on this matter - can step back and understand that different life experiences result in different perspectives and thus different opinions. It doesn't mean they are off to join the KKK or the Black Panther Party, it just means that this is how they see it.
Be at peace this Thanksgiving day and be grateful that we can have these discussions in this, the greatest country on God's green earth. I know I am.
