Commentary: Gifts worth remembering

Sometimes it’s easy to take them for granted

Year-end columns are a lot like shopping for a gift for the person who has everything. It's hard to know what to offer.

You, friendly reader, may not literally have everything, but you've got more than a lot of people in this world. Here are a few gifts we may take for granted:

Freedom of expression -- Yes, we still live in a land of freedom despite all the hand-wringing about President Obama wanting to rob us all of even our ability to pick out what shirt to wear. Look around the next time you're out: There are plenty of shirts one would think should be outlawed if the country were going to go down that path. Some of them will come out in full force at New Year's Eve parties this Thursday night. Thankfully, we're not going down that path. Except for a few "safe zones" created by shallow-minded people who cannot handle dissenting viewpoints, Americans can still wear a T-shirt that says "Save the climate or die" or one that says "Climate change: The science of hyperbole."

That's not to say Americans are necessarily tolerant of the free exchange of ideas. A lot of people are insulating themselves from notions that challenge their own perspectives.

If I could give everyone a gift for 2016, perhaps it would be a spirit of openness to other people's concerns. Some folks will take that to mean they have to jettison their deeply held convictions. Not at all. But everyone of us born into this world -- and I think that includes everyone -- was at one point like a sponge, soaking up the ideas around us and evaluating them until we formed a set of core beliefs and principles that guide us. Unfortunately, some of us reach a point where we stop accepting new information and dig in our heals, content to live in an artificial silo of comfortable thoughts.

Liberals do it. Conservatives do it. People who don't know what they are do it. It seems to me, however, that our openness to new information, new ideas should end only when they close the casket.

Northwest Arkansas -- The only people I ever really hear denigrate Arkansas, and our region in particular, are people who really know very little about them. People who are open to what Arkansas has to offer (see item above) usually will discover its wonders.

If life is defined by whether we have a Nordstrum or a Restoration Hardware, then, yeah, our little spot on this globe might not be for you. But if nature and nice people and enough amenities to more than get by work for you, Northwest Arkansas has a lot to be thankful for.

I spoke with a reader the other day who hailed from another state and, free of anything to tie him down after his retirement, he discovered Northwest Arkansas and moved here. He had no idea such a wonderful place existed, he said. Sometimes, those of us who have lived here for a long time don't realize it either.

Freedom of religion -- Many Americans just observed Christmas not as just a national holiday or a day of giving, but as a symbolic recognition of the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ. Likewise, December saw observances of Bodhi Day (Buddhism), Hanukkah (Judaism), Vaikunta Ekadasi (Hinduism), Mawlid Al-Nabi (Islam) and winter solstice (various).

Despite misguided and politically useful claims to the contrary, Americans aren't being persecuted for their faiths. The government isn't forcing anyone to believe anything, but leaves it to the individual to discern what spiritual path he or she wants to pursue, or none at all.

And no, Kim Davis wasn't a victim of persecution of Christians. She was an elected county official refusing to do the legally required duties of her public office. She, however, never lost her capacity or her freedom to praise her God.

Our military -- We can argue over whether wars should be fought, but no one can reasonably argue that the men and women of the U.S. armed forces aren't directly responsible for protecting the principles and freedoms we Americans hold (or should hold) dear. As I write and as you read, they are on watch, protecting the interests of our country. Our differences about what those interests are play out in the political arena, but those in uniform stand resolute for the nation. If you believe they're not a vital part of the American experience, you might be more than a little naive about what others will do if there's not a strong force to resist the vehicles of tyranny.

The good thing about all these is they're gifts that keep on giving.

Happy new year.

Commentary on 12/28/2015

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