Dear Fellow Patriot,
Greetings and happy thanksgiving to you and your family!
As we take this day to give thanks, despite the challenging year for all of us, let us be reminded of all the many blessings in our lives and especially for living in the greatest nation on earth.
Many of you know that my family and I immigrated to the U.S. from Iran when I was less than a year old in 1979. My parents struggled financially and socially, as we tried to learn a new language and assimilate in society, but one thing we never did was give up, and this country welcomed us with open arms and it never gave up on us!
Whether it was my late mother distributing Yellow Pages or starting her own business as a nanny, she persevered and no one told her she couldn’t do it because of her gender, or because she was Iranian. Or my father who studied to become a surgeon and built a successful practice through his hard work and determination to have his family live the American Dream, no government ever told him that he couldn’t be a physician.
All these are things I reflect on when I think of how different my life could have been if my parents had raised me in a country that didn’t value entrepreneurship and allowing people to control their own destiny rather than having the heavy hand of government dictating their professions and their livelihood.
As I write you, I am in Milwaukee, Wisconsin working as part of a volunteer legal team for the Trump Campaign. Lawyers and observers have been here since last Friday to ensure that every legal vote is counted, and every illegal vote is not counted.
We live in a country where our brave men and women fought and many died, for us to live in the greatest democracy on earth and to have free and fair elections, unlike my country of birth. For that reason, I am not only grateful to be a part of the team on the ground here to help with this recount effort, but I am thankful to live in a democracy that honors a system of transparency in our elections' process.
I’d like to leave you with my interview with former Ambassador Nancy Brinker, Founder of Susan G. Komen (in honor of her late sister). Ambassador Brinker's show, 'Conversations with Nancy’ airs weekly on Newsmax with my interview first airing last week. In it I discuss the recent elections, the Affordable Care Act, and what a blessing it was to run for Congress and hold positions on Capitol Hill and at the Pentagon that I could never have done in my own country of birth because I am a woman. Just one reason to be thankful not just today, but everyday for living in the greatest country on earth.
I wish you and your family a very happy thanksgiving! Please do send me your comments and thoughts as I always appreciate hearing from you!
All my best,
Amanda Makki
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Conversations with Nancy Brinker
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