Grateful for Freedoms

I figured there was no better time than to start a month of grateful posts.  At a time like this, where there are nothing but political comments from both sides, some nearing the ruthless mark, I can't help but be grateful for this great nation that we live in.  We have freedoms that some people have never dreamed of.  We get to choose who our leaders are!  How many countries get that same privilege?  Here is a quote from President Gordon B. Hinkley that sums up quite nicely what we should all remember, no matter what our political beliefs.

"[The Constitution] is the keystone of our nation. It is the guarantee of our liberty. That original document, with the Bill of Rights, constitutes the charter of our freedom. Through all of the years that have followed we have had some ambitious men who have sought to subvert the great principles of the Constitution, but somehow we have endured one crisis after another. We have been involved in terrible wars during this, the bloodiest of all centuries in the history of man. All of this is part of the miracle that is America, the struggle, the travail, the bitterness, the jealousies, the cynicism, and the criticism. But beyond and above it all is the wonder of a nation that for more than two centuries has remained free and independent and strong, the envy of the world, the hope of the world, the protection of free men everywhere, the manifestation of the power of the Almighty."

Despite everything, we live in a free country.  One that is the promised land.  It is where thousands come from countless other countries so that they can live the way they want. And I was born here! I added a video below. It is one of those great Mormon Messages about freedom.  I loved what one of the people said in there, that in order to appreciate the freedoms we have, we have to understand the consequences of being without it.