Roy Oppenheim’s Annual Thanksgiving Message

As many of you know by now, right before Thanksgiving, I like to gather my thoughts and, as my friends at Rotary would say, reflect and share on my “Attitude of Gratitude”. Thanksgiving remains my favorite holiday as we all take time out from our daily routines to spend time with family and friends and each of us, in our own special way, say thanks for all the goodness we share.

This year with all the senseless mass shootings, natural disasters, hate crimes and an increased divisiveness in America, one may say it is difficult to be thankful. Yet, when you see thousands of people risking their lives and family, traveling miles and miles to enter our borders, we must take stock and recognize how truly blessed and thankful we should be.

We should be thankful for the freedoms that we truly share. We should be thankful for an enduring political system within our great country, that prides itself with an abundance of cultural and political diversity, that we have the freedom to express our opinion. Despite the backdrop of other countries attempting to meddle in our elections through propaganda like fake news in social media, in the end, our core values and our democratic principles are stronger than ever. Americans are taking their right to vote more seriously than ever as we are seeing more people voting now than we have ever seen. We are seeing a Congress that truly is becoming reflective of our remarkably diverse and cultural demography making our Congress look more and more like the United Nations. Because after all our country is truly a country of immigrants.

We should also be thankful that our three branches of government continue to make sure that our great nation is governed by the rule of law and not by one person or private organization.
As an officer of the court and the judiciary, I give thanks that every day I, along with my wife and team at Oppenheim Law are free to assert our role in this process, whether it is a corporate, real estate, employment, or commercial litigation matter.

And we do so, particularly in protecting individuals and families in foreclosure that may have been abused by powerful banking and corporate institutions that think that they are sometimes above the law.
Only in America…. can a determined young lawyer, nearly thirty years ago, start a law firm and real estate title company and have the opportunity to help others and then decide to also protect families abused by the largest banking institutions in the world .

For that I am truly eternally grateful.

This Thanksgiving we should leave our differences aside, come together, and be thankful that we live in this wonderful country that allows and embraces differences among us. A country that allows us to openly discuss our opinions and celebrate our true cultural diversity.

As part of our “Attitude of Gratitude,” we should all make a list of those things that are truly most important in our lives. Carry that list with you or commit it to memory and pull it out on those days when somehow life becomes challenging, as it is easy to succumb to indifference.

I am most thankful first and foremost to be alive and well and have my physical and mental health. I am of course most thankful for my wife and children and family with whom we will all gather together on Thanksgiving. I am also truly blessed for my faith, friends, staff, and clients all of whom make me feel impactful every day. And I am thankful to be an American.

Happy Thanksgiving

From the trenches,

Roy Oppenheim