I never forget that we are still a country of hunting and fishing culture. Exceptionally large numbers of people choose to put healthy wild game meat on their own table, rather than buy pieces of feed-lot animals from stores.

Count me in on that healthy choice.

Besides the healthy side of things, there is the pride that skill brings. It takes some doing to select the right gun and ammo; practice until skillful; learn the ways of the critters to be hunted; plan and execute the hunt; and then take excellent care of the fresh meat for the family table.

During the meal, it is customary and enjoyable to share stories of the outdoors experience and to thank the critter for feeding your family. When you hunt your own meat, it is natural to appreciate the sacrifice of the critter because you experienced it.

When you buy a piece of meat from the store, I believe it is rare for people to stop and appreciate that fact that a feed-lot animal made the same sacrifice that a wild critter made.

I’m sharing my spiritual side here.

There are more hunters throughout the country than many people realize. I was reading some old numbers from the Midwest and Northeast, for example.

Wisconsin had roughly 600,000 deer hunters and many more who hunt birds and other game; Michigan had 700,000; and Pennsylvania had 750,000.

Combine the hunters in those states and you are nearing the largest army in the world. Considering how few injuries and deaths there are and how successful the hunts, this army is very disciplined and skilled.

Now add in the big numbers from all the rest of the states, California included, and it is easy to see why foreign countries think twice about invading the U.S.

We’ve got the best armed forces in the world, and if they somehow managed to get past that, they would be facing a much larger force of 30 million to 40 million who would defend our home turf with the power of spirit Americans have always shown when we must fight.

Those numbers are very large, and yes we have surprising numbers of skilled hunters in this country. We also have an amazing number of people who keep guns in their homes for defense.

Combined, it looks like a force our enemies are not prepared to face. I’m proud to be a part of this.

Yes, we have a culture of putting our own meat on the table, but this is also a matter of national security. At Thanksgiving time, many U.S. families give thanks for these things.