By David Hegg

On Oct. 3, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared a national day of thanksgiving to take place on the fourth Thursday in November. In the aftermath of Gettysburg, the battle that turned the tide of the bloody Civil War, Lincoln asked that the day be one of “thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”

Today, Thanksgiving stands as a uniquely American holiday, marked by grand traditions of food and family. But in too many cases, I fear food and football have pushed the giving of thanks to the margin, clearing it off the table. It’s time to recover this much-needed attitude, in hopes that it will shape our lives more than just one day a year.

As wonderful as being a democratic republic is, with its passion for liberty and individual freedom, it can also produce some dangerous attitudes. One of these is a sense of entitlement fueled by the growing expansion of what constitutes our rights. Initially, these “rights” were enumerated as “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Today, too many demand we agree with their personal definition of happiness, and applaud them in their pursuit, even when it is foolish and dangerous.

The problem is we have abandoned what the original authors of the........

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