Thanksgiving is that time of year when we sit down and think about all the things we have to be thankful for.

If you went on the road to visit grandma and grandpa or Uncle Charlie or your kids, you can thank the road workers for the fine road they built. While you’re at it, thank the taxpayers for providing the funds for building those roads. Corporations were not willing to pony up.

Oh, and that fine car you drove; thank those auto workers for building such a comfortable machine. And how did you ever get the money to buy such a nice car? Well, you had a good job. You got that good job because you had a good education. You can thank your school teachers for that fine education.

How was that turkey or ham you ate with all the fixings? Those tasty foods didn’t spring up at the supermarket with somebody’s magic wand. They were brought there by truck drivers.

The food, by the way, was all raised and grown by farmers. The roads were made safe by police. They were maintained by road crews. A lot to be thankful for, indeed.

We really do have a lot of people to thank. Not only on Thanksgiving, but every day. Another thing we can give thanks for. If you are really happy with the three to four trillion dollars of debt we have, you can thank the military-industrial complex for the two useless wars they manipulated us into with lies.

As for your freedom. You can thank the few investigative reporters we have left for reporting the truth. I heard somewhere: “The truth shall set you free.”

Peter P. Sirois, Madison