Dear Editor,
Although Thanksgiving is far away from now, it is still important to remember to be grateful for the things that we have in our life all year round.
On top of the list of things for which I am grateful for is freedom. The gift of freedom allows us to enjoy all of the other things we have for which to be grateful.
When slavery was lawful in the times before the Civil War, slaves were deprived of many freedoms. Many of those freedoms are the same that Americans currently have today.
For example, they could not choose the person for which they worked. Much of the time, they did not have the choice in where they go to church.
The parents did not have as much say in the raising of their children as their owners did over their children. Most could not own their own property or receive formal education. Although they could not vote, their slaveholders received greater political power due to the Three-Fifths Clause on their behalf.
On April 10-11, students here at ETSU had a chance to vote on whether or not football should be brought back. The outcome of these votes held the future of ETSU. We had the opportunity to voice our opinions and be a part of the decision-making.
Slaves did not get the opportunity to vote inside their community much less voice an opinion on events occurring in their individual lives, such as where they should work.
Because we do not have someone dictating everything that we do in our lives, we should be grateful for the freedoms that we have. For every criticism that we have about our daily lives, we should find at least one single way to be grateful.
-Laura Cannon

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