November 24, 2015 at 2:32 p.m.
Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving
Our society is unparalleled in human history in the prosperity it has achieved and the liberties it has offered its citizens. The times are tough these days for those who share our values - freedom is a hard-won thing, the song tells us, and every generation has to win it again - but we wouldn't bet against the creative spark that drives every American and ignites our desire to make the world a better place.
At Thanksgiving it is right and proper to thank the brave soldiers who through the years have fought for our freedoms. We especially remember the many who have given their lives doing so, and we pray for those who have been injured physically and emotionally in that fight. For soldiers, it seems their time is always near at hand. And so we give thanks.
At Thanksgiving it is right and proper to give thanks for those we love, near and far. It is right and proper to give thanks for those around the festive table - how lucky we are to have them beside us - and to those who can only join us in our thoughts. We give thanks for their safe days.
It is right and proper at Thanksgiving to remember and give thanks for those we have loved but who are no longer with us on Earth. The holidays are always bittersweet for those who have lost a son, a daughter, a parent, a spouse, close relative or friend or other loved one. We grieve and miss them, and the hurt echoes in the fabric of the day, but we are also blessed by the memories we have of them, of the great joy and inspiration they imparted to our lives during those times we were fortunate to be with them. And so we give thanks.
Lost loves live on precisely because they become part of our inner being, as natural and essential to our daily lives as a drink of water.
This Thanksgiving, too, we give thanks to every American, those we see every day and those who shall never cross our geographical paths. Perhaps not, but let us all pledge to meet up at the intersection of good will and proud citizenship.
That is to say, we are all relatives, American brothers and sisters, and we give thanks to every individual for the contribution each has made, no matter how large or small. The accumulation of small accomplishments is the surest way to success and longevity.
There is a tombstone for an early American, a hardworking woman who died in the late 1700s named Anna Hayes Bennett. It is inscribed so simply yet elegantly: She hath done what she could.
It is a fitting motto for all Americans. Hard work and simple accomplishments - each of us doing what we can - has morphed the body whole into greatness.
And so we give thanks. This Thanksgiving a big toast to every American for doing what they can for our nation. May you be blessed and happy on this wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.
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