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Independence, MO —
For Efrem S. Gibson, there’s a direct connection between Thanksgiving and the freedoms outlined in the Bill of Rights.
“It’s a time to be thankful for what we have,” he says.
Gibson, a U.S. Army major stationed at Fort Leavenworth, brought that message to the Kiwanis Club of Independence earlier this week, outlining American history and detailing the freedoms – voting, religion, expression, due process, among others – that not all people around the world enjoy.
“It’s what you know but you don’t really focus on,” said Kiwanian Tawna Noftzger.
One example Gibson mentioned is Malala Yousafzai, the 14-year-old Pakistani girl shot in the face by the Taliban a few weeks ago for standing up for the right of girls to go to school and for calling out the Taliban for its atrocities.
Even the right to what the U.S. Constitution calls peaceable assembly – such as a Kiwanis meeting – is easy to take for granted, Noftzger said.
“It was just a really wonderful concept about how freedom and Thanksgiving go together,” she said.
Drawing on the origins of today’s holiday and the history of the Constitution, Gibson spoke of how the freedoms embodied in the Bill of Rights allow everything from the Occupy Wall Street movement to the Tea Party.
“It was a wonderful presentation,” Noftzger said.
Gibson, with 17 years in the Army, has spent a couple of Thanksgivings overseas, one in Kosovo and one in Afghanistan. He’s also served in Iraq. “We are doing some good over there,” he said. This year he’s looking forward to a quiet Thanksgiving with friends.
For Efrem S. Gibson, there’s a direct connection between Thanksgiving and the freedoms outlined in the Bill of Rights.
“It’s a time to be thankful for what we have,” he says.
Gibson, a U.S. Army major stationed at Fort Leavenworth, brought that message to the Kiwanis Club of Independence earlier this week, outlining American history and detailing the freedoms – voting, religion, expression, due process, among others – that not all people around the world enjoy.
“It’s what you know but you don’t really focus on,” said Kiwanian Tawna Noftzger.
One example Gibson mentioned is Malala Yousafzai, the 14-year-old Pakistani girl shot in the face by the Taliban a few weeks ago for standing up for the right of girls to go to school and for calling out the Taliban for its atrocities.
Even the right to what the U.S. Constitution calls peaceable assembly – such as a Kiwanis meeting – is easy to take for granted, Noftzger said.
“It was just a really wonderful concept about how freedom and Thanksgiving go together,” she said.
Drawing on the origins of today’s holiday and the history of the Constitution, Gibson spoke of how the freedoms embodied in the Bill of Rights allow everything from the Occupy Wall Street movement to the Tea Party.
“It was a wonderful presentation,” Noftzger said.
Gibson, with 17 years in the Army, has spent a couple of Thanksgivings overseas, one in Kosovo and one in Afghanistan. He’s also served in Iraq. “We are doing some good over there,” he said. This year he’s looking forward to a quiet Thanksgiving with friends.
