Much of my life has been spent abroad.

My parents were missionaries, and when I was 8, my family moved to Penang, Malaysia -- about as far away from the States as you could get then. We stayed in SE Asia, and I graduated from Singapore American School at 17.

I am blessed to have clients around the world, and fortunate that my wife and son love travel as much as I do.

So I think I've had a different perspective on America than many of you, who may have spent your lives here, except for occasional vacations.

And perhaps that's why this story resonates so with me, for here we take so much for granted.

And it's easy to forget that it is not the same for the vast majority of the people in this world.

We, for whom freedom seems so natural as to be part of who we are, should reflect from time to time on the blessing of being born here: The land of the free. For our freedom has always been paid for, through the generations, by the courage and honor of those willing to pay the price with their lives. We, all of us, should express our gratitude more often.

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