Giving Thanks...

This Thanksgiving week, I am most grateful to count so many of you among the growing ranks of Patriots.

There are Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen standing in harm's way around the world. There are moms, dads and other family members nurturing the next generation of young patriots. There are grassroots leaders and local, state and national officeholders. There are students and professors at colleges and universities, often standing alone for what is good and right. There are employees and employers and professionals. There are those in ministry at home and missionaries abroad. There are American Patriots from all walks of life, who "hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Throughout history the burden of keeping the flame of liberty bright has fallen on the shoulders of a few men and women. As Founding Patriot Samuel Adams noted, "It does not take a majority to prevail ... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men."

Daniel Webster was right, "God grants liberty only to those who love it and are always ready to guard and defend it." Let us give special thanks to those who protect our freedoms...