Happy Thanksgiving to all from the gang at Long Long Honeymoon (http://LongLongHoneymoon.com)!
Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays. It’s a time to consume some of our favorite foods, and enjoy the company of our favorite people. So why not share one of our favorite photos?
One of our favorite photos on one of our favorite holidays.
We took this shot at Upper Trail Lake in Alaska (between Anchorage and Seward). Yes, the ol’ camera self-timer comes through again!
Every time I look at it I am reminded of the beautiful country in which we are blessed to live.
FREEDOM TO TRAVEL
I’m thankful for many aspects of our lives, but the freedom to travel our country is certainly an important one.
Sometimes “freedom” seems more like a campaign slogan than a concept. We often talk about freedom, but what does that really mean? Freedom to do what, exactly?
In the case of interstate travel, we Americans have certain Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms. There’s a reason individual states don’t have burdensome border checkpoints. It’s because the framers of the Constitution (with a capital “C”) intended for American citizens to freely roam the country and world, if we so choose. In many parts of the world, oppressive governments have denied people even this basic freedom.
I once lived in Czechoslovakia where I worked as a teacher. I remember a Slovak citizen telling me that his physician father had been offered a prestigious job in London. There was just one problem. “If he had taken his dream job and left Slovakia,” said my friend, “our government would’ve considered him a criminal. He would’ve never been allowed to see his family ever again.”
Yikes. That sort of restraint on individual liberty sounds like the stuff of science fiction. But sadly, oppressive control has been reality for too many people throughout the course of human history. That why on most matters, I tend to favor a restrained government. Throughout human history, government restraint has been the exception rather than the norm.
Yes, freedom can be a little messy. But I’ll take a free mess over oppressive order.
EVEN THANKFUL FOR DUMP STATIONS (believe it or not!)
Of course it’s freedom to travel that has made the vast American RV economy possible. Since people are free to travel, it has made good economic sense to meet their needs with campgrounds, dump stations, and the like.
We have tried RV travel in other free countries such as Argentina. While we certainly enjoyed the experience of RV traveling abroad, we missed the supportive infrastructure of the United States. Argentine citizens are surprisingly free to travel by RV but the country lacks infrastructure.
For example, Argentine RV travelers are free to travel, park, and even empty grey water just about anywhere they choose. The only problem with Argentina is that it’s almost impossible to find a campground; they don’t exist! The RV industry is very small, so you boondock everywhere you go.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
I don’t mean to dwell on too many philosophical matters here. Suffice to say that we all are incredibly fortunate to live in a society where “the pursuit of happiness” is a guaranteed opportunity. If you don’t like the view or the neighbors, you are free to move on. For that I am thankful.
Wherever you are on this special day, we hope you are enjoying it.
Sean & Kristy