Gratitude for America

I have just been thinking lately how incredibly blessed I feel to live in America. I know our country isn't perfect, but we have so many opportunities and blessings that many other countries do not have. Yes, I'm white, I come from a good family, I have an education, have a nice home. So maybe these things make me unqualified to say things are pretty great in America, but I think that we, as a society, have a fundamentally wrong view of how we should be measuring our lives. Is it unfair that I was born into the family that I was? That I have things that maybe some others don't?  Our depth of suffering shouldn't be measured by a socioeconomic hierarchy. What I suffer may not be the same or seem as "difficult" as what someone else suffers but that doesn't mean my opinion or how I see the world isn't valid or important. Anyone can see blessings around them, because really, someone else always has it "worse". I may not know what it's like to be homeless, or divorced, or a victim of domestic violence, but maybe most of those people don't know what it's like to literally starve to death, to have no access to shelters, or healthcare, or clean water. And maybe there are exceptions, but I think we as a society tend to FOCUS on exceptions and then see our country through a very cynical lens. Yes, there are people that will suffer injustices, but I feel like, as a whole, our country is amazing. We have so much freedom. We can go to college if we want, we can work, we have access to good food and government programs and private agencies that give so much to help those in need. We do have protection through law enforcement, and I know, it's not perfect, but we don't live in anarchy. We don't fear for our lives every single day. And yes, there are people that may not be able to afford healthcare, but people aren't dying from curable diseases everyday.  Our modern medicine and technology is among the best in the world.  We should feel so immensely grateful for that! I just feel discouraged sometimes with a lack of optimism and gratitude that I see, mostly from media. But I have alot of hope as well because of what I see around me—the service, the love, and the compassion that so many people in my neighborhood and community give to each other. We can all spread goodness and kindness, no matter our race, family situation, or socioeconomic status. And we shouldn't measure success in life by these things but by the kind of people that we are.  I believe that differences in circumstances SHOULD exist so that people can become good. At the end of my life, God will not ask me how much money I had or if I had a great family situation or what color my skin was. He will not ask what level of college I attained or if I had a smart phone or a nice car. But He will ask what  I did with what I was given  and how I treated other people. How did I become more holy and pure and loving?  How did I handle the responsibilities and stewardships given to me?  These things should be the measure of our lives. And everyone will be different, that's the way it supposed to be! So I guess I'm just trying to say, let's look at life through a different lens, and be grateful. ❤️