On this Christmas season, 2024, we in America have much to be grateful for:

For a country where liberty is still valued and where prosperity is still possible.

For our families, friends, loved ones, colleagues and coworkers.

For the kindness of strangers.

For those whose inspiration, talent and craft have provided the stories, books, music, films and other entertainment that have become an integral part of our holiday traditions.

For everyone who plays Santa Claus in schools, shopping malls and hospitals, and for every volunteer whose bellringing reminds us to help with others' needs at this time of year.

For the unity, camaraderie, joy and pride of achievement provided by sport.

For the people whose dedication to protecting our safety and security and the provision of our needs includes Christmas Day and every other holiday: police officers, firefighters, ambulance drivers and emergency first responders; doctors, nurses and other medical professionals; caregivers in assisted living facilities; pilots, flight attendants and air traffic controllers, over-the-road and short-haul truckers, highway toll attendants, train engineers, ships' captains and crew; public utility workers, electricians, plumbers and tradesmen; farmers and workers in our factories and manufacturing plants; those who man the counters of our pharmacies, gas stations, convenience and 24-hour "big box" stores.

For the entrepreneurs, whose relentless quest for improvement of the human condition has provided some of the greatest technological achievements ever seen by mankind.

For those who promote and protect freedom of speech, and those whose refusal to remain silent has cost them much in the defense of free speech in principle and in practice.

For the latest Great Awakening within the American public, and the renewed recognition that the protection of our liberties rests not upon blind confidence in institutions but upon the daily vigilance and courage of each individual.

For Americans in politics, in journalism, in medicine, in law, in business and in all other fields, who have been willing to seek and proclaim the truth and have forged new and strong alliances with others in pursuit of that truth, regardless of background or previous affiliations.

For a new generation of political leadership at the national, state and local levels, committed to the principles enshrined in our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution.

For a resurgence of the spiritual values upon which this nation was founded and its future depends.

For those whose service to our nation is 24/7/365: the Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, National Guard, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine.

And most of all, for the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior, the Love of God made manifest. May that same love burn in each of our hearts, for it is there from which springs the Peace on Earth of which the angels sing.

Merry Christmas, and may God bless us, everyone.

Laura Hollis is an attorney and university professor who has taught courses in law and business for more than 30 years. Her legal publications have appeared in the Temple Law Review, Cardozo Law Review and the Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy. She is a nationally syndicated columnist whose work has been featured in dozens of print and online publications. Read reports by Professor Hollis — More Here.