Four Freedoms

I have been enjoying a thanksgiving weekend with my family. We spent a day looking at all the wonderful paintings in the Art Institute of Chicago. We saw the original Norman Rockwell painting titled “Freedom from Want.” I am sure you have seen it reproduced many places – a family is seated in anticipation of a thanksgiving meal and the turkey is just being placed on the table. It is one of a series of four paintings Rockwell did – each portraying an essential human freedom we often take for granted. They are Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear. I realized that I enjoy these on a daily basis, but seldom stop to give thanks or even realize how privileged I am to enjoy them without a second thought. So this Black Friday I plan to take some time out from chasing after the next great deal to give thanks for the basic human freedoms I enjoy daily – and thank God I have the freedom to do it.