First, I'm grateful for the people who have mentioned my recovery as something
they're grateful for. It comes at a time when I've been down and needed a lift
and I'm grateful for the kind sentiments.


As tomorrow is Independence Day, I'm thinking about something Bill Maher says --
He says conservatives love America the way the child loves his/her mother.
Mommy can do no wrong and mommy has no faults. Progressives love America the
way adults love. They see the faults and wrongs and are willing to address them
because they want what"s best for that other person. As a progressive, it's
been easy for me to focus on the faults and wrongs -- especially the last eight
years. But today, I can say...

I'm glad a bunch of guys 200+ years ago decided to risk everything on a bold new
social/political experiment: government of, for, and by the people. A
government free from the entanglements of church and state. The world would be
a poorer place were it not for that risk. While we have not always lived up to
their ideals, I'm grateful the ideal exists to strive for.

I'm grateful we, as a nation, are finely beginning a meaningful discussion on
healthcare and global warming. It's been too long coming and we're still not
where we need to be. But I can pause long enough (to not focus on the faults)
and say I'm grateful that we've at least arrived at square one.

I'm grateful that we've elected our first African American president. Something
else, too long in coming. But God, I'm glad I lived to see the day.

I grateful for the first Fourth of July without the Worst. President. Ever.
The first Fourth of July in a long time when the conservatives don't have
exclusive ownership of the flag and patriotism.

I'm grateful that, as a kid, my parents took me to places like Yorktown,
Williamsburg, and Gettysburg. In the end, we are a great nation with a rich
heritage, a melting pot of cultures and ideas, but out of many we are learning
to be one.

So, as the fireworks go off tomorrow, those are the grateful thoughts I'll be
thinking...