We should be thankful for the blessings of liberty and peace in our beloved United States – especially when those blessings are compared with the current horrors of death and turmoil in the North African country of Libya and the Middle Eastern country of Syria.
In Libya, rebel forces have seized the compound of long-ruling despot Moammar Gadhafi, who has oppressed his own people and at times created grave international threats. As of this writing, Gadhafi remains on the run, and his control of the nation appears to be at an end.
In Syria, meanwhile, determined protesters have braved deadly attacks by the government as they seek the end of the harsh rule of President Bashar al-Assad.
How can we Americans really understand the dangers and disruptions that the people of those countries are suffering?
We surely have problems and sometimes sharp political differences in the United States, but certainly none are comparable to the violent disintegration of so many societies in other parts of the world.
Despite whatever challenges and anxieties we may have here, our lives are blessed with a degree of peace and opportunity that many people around the globe cannot even imagine.
We cannot solve other nations’ internal strife, but we should clearly be grateful for the relative tranquility we enjoy here.