Thanksgiving: 2016 sucked, but my values are clear

Happy Thanksgiving, blog land!

• I am thankful for my smart, fierce, loyal, diverse, international, kind, thoughtful, funny friends (and alright, thanks to Facebook for letting me keep up with all of you at a large scale)
• I'm thankful for my education and ability to critically think.
• I'm thankful for my library card (BPL rules!).
• I'm thankful for those who keep me safe--the moms and dads, the teachers, the police, the military, the firemen and women.
• I'm thankful that I live in the US, and particularly the Northeast! Woohoo freedom of speech and assembly!
• I'm thankful that although 2016 was a heartbreaking year for me, it has clarified my values. I know what I stand for and what I believe in and I am prepared to fight for those values.
• I believe in facts, in the news, in evidence, in investigative reporting and critical thinking.
• I believe that everyone was created equal and that our country has to work hard to make sure everyone is treated equally under the law. Equal rights, equal justice, equal opportunity, equal pay. Love is love.
• I believe that we have a duty to protect the planet and fight climate change.
• I don't think that being "politically correct" is a thing, I think it's just being correct and valuing others. It's never ok to make fun of disabled people, use racial epithets, use degrading language about women. Those are the cultural norms of the modern world.
• I believe that refugees are deserving of our sympathy and kindness.
• I believe that nationalism, xenophobia, and racism will ultimately fail our country.
• I believe in common sense gun laws.
• I believe that sexual assault is an egregious violation, as is taking away women's right to choose what happens to their bodies.
• I am thankful that in America, religion and government don't conflate.
• I am thankful and lucky that I live in MA, a state that will protect me.

And finally, I believe the children are our future. (OK, while I do believe that, that was mostly a joke because I'm letting myself get too sappy on Thanksgiving.)

What are you thankful for? What are your values?