You remember those Visa commercials? The ones with the punchline "Priceless"?

Those commercials were designed to make you feel better about an industry that has been reviled as far back as the Bible (and rightly so), but they did have a good message.

Want to know what I think is priceless about living in the USA? The rule of law.

I regularly hear people, generally conservative folks, whine and complain about paying taxes and it just gets me mad. How ignorant! How selfish! Some people have no idea how good we have it here. I know it is natural to take something for granted until you lose it but still.

How can folks be so ungrateful for the quality of life we have here at a time when we pay all this attention on Iraq and Afghanistan? What do people think we are trying to do over there? We are trying to create the rule of law. Look how hard that is and then think about how much we take for granted here and shouldnt.

We have the big stuff here.

• I am 40 years old and I have never been in fear of my life from my government or my police.
• No one I know of has ever been visited in the middle of the night and "disappeared" by a policeman or government official.
• I dont see military grade weapons on the street or soldiers in the neighborhood and neither do my children.
• The only time military jets fly overhead is for Fleet Week and air shows and they never drop bombs.
• Bombings are almost unheard of.
• I have never had to shoot at anyone or known anyone that has been shot.
• I can walk around my neighborhood day or night without fear of being murdered or kidnapped.
• When I go to the office, I do not have to worry that my wife and daughter will be alive when I get home.

Those are the big things and they are priceless. They are also things that happen because of the rule of law.

In this country, we solve our disputes with lawyers. Life is not perfect but we do not solve our problems with an AK47 or explosives nor do we have to resort to bribes and kidnapping to make a living.

And we also have the little stuff.

• All homes have sanitation and most have sewers, running water, heat and 24/7 electricity.
• The roads are all passable and most have curbs and sidewalks.
• The streets arent littered with dead animals or trash.
• And if you have a problem, you can pick up the phone and get help.

Because we have the basic rule of law here, we can use our tax money to provide these other niceties of life which are also priceless.

The irony is that we get to sit around and complain about paying taxes simply because we have it so damn good. We are rich because there is almost no fear in our lives. We live with a level of luxury and peace that billions of people want for themselves. And we barely appreciate it.