Reasons to be thankful beyond the holiday season

As we reflect on our Thanksgiving weekend and begin preparations for the upcoming Christmas season, I hope we take the time to recognize the true meaning of the holidays we are celebrating and reflect on how precious it is to have the freedom to celebrate with family and friends.

President George Washington issued the first proclamation calling for a "day of public thanksgiving and prayer" on Thursday, November 26, 1789. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued a thanksgiving proclamation requesting "citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourned in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November...as a day of Thanksgiving."

Over the years, the date of Thanksgiving changed from time to time, but never the intent. I'd like to call on all residents of the Third District to think about all we have to be thankful for -- and how we can continue to help our nation be a better place.

Countries around the world look to the United States for leadership when it comes to issues such as basic freedoms, education, and health care. There are still challenges to overcome, but we should be thankful we live in a country where these serious matters can be debated in the halls of Congress, not decided upon by an unaccountable ruling class.

We have the duty to protect and celebrate the blessings with which we've been entrusted. Many will spend this holiday season away from their loved ones as a service to our country and in defense of the freedoms we are celebrating. Let us keep in our prayers the men and women of our Armed Forces -- those who protect our liberties with their very lives -- and their families.

We should be thankful our country was founded on principles of liberty, independence, rule of law, and the consent of the governed. The Constitution of the United States is recognized by many to be the most historically significant for establishing freedom and justice through democracy.

Unfortunately, the trend in Washington has been to spend record amounts of taxpayer dollars and using the heavy hand of government to stifle entrepreneurship and innovation. I share widespread concern this movement will not only fail to accomplish the goals of creating jobs and stimulating our economy, but may actually worsen our fiscal situation.

Nebraskans should be thankful our frugal ways reflect good, old-fashioned commonsense as opposed to the thinking which permeates Washington, D.C. We should be thankful our state is in much better financial position than 45 other states and that, despite a national foreclosure rate of more than 2.9 percent in September, the Third District had a foreclosure rate of just 0.75 percent.

Though this was an increase from the previous year, I'm thankful Nebraskans continue to live within our means and have not fallen into the trap which has stymied economies in other states.

It was 220 years ago when the father of our country, George Washington, proclaimed our first day of thanksgiving and prayer. President Washington urged the nation to pray our federal government would be a "blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed" and for all nations to know "good governments, peace, and concord."

His words echo today as we celebrate time with friends and family. As Americans, we enjoy freedoms denied so many others -- freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to bear arms. Let us be thankful ours is the greatest democracy in the world.