Despite all that has happened in the past year-and-a-half, we Americans have much to be thankful for.

We live in a country where votes really count … unlike in Iraq where a dictator gets 100 percent of the vote because the people are afraid for their lives to vote against him.

We live in a country where there is a peaceful transfer of power from one elected administration to another. Witness the 2000 presidential election and the recent gubernatorial election in Alabama. Americans worked things out legally and civilly without bloodshed.

We live in a country where people care about the poor and homeless and those who have suffered. Witness the outpouring of generosity for the families of those who lost loved ones in the terrorist attacks of 9-11.

We live in a country where police, fire and emergency rescue personnel care, as was recently the case in Columbiana when officials traveled to various parts of the city to warn of the threat of an impending tornado.

That’s the case in every city when law enforcement and rescue personnel put their lives on the line to protect us from crime or disaster.

And we live in a country where even the poorest of our poor fare better than their counterparts in other parts of the world who literally starve to death.

At this time of year, we should be thankful for what we have and continue our traditions of giving to help the homeless and the poor.

Lets be thankful and try to

make this holiday season a happy one for all