Thanksgiving: Give Thanks, Take Action

Today is the last Thursday of November and thus Thanksgiving Day in the United States.  We have much to be thankful for and we as a nation give thanks on this day, and so I shall.

It is easy.  I thank my bride for her inspiration and support, without which I would not have the energy to shine the light on the topics which often hide in obscurity.  I also thank her, for all the joy she brings to life, not just my own, but to each person whom she may encounter, they all leave smiling and better for the experience.  It is often said, if you believe in reincarnation you want to come back as her dog, I agree, though being her husband is not a bad place to be, and for that I am eternally grateful and appreciative.

I also thank my family: children, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and of course parents for life's lessons.  Particularly my parents for their instilling in me the basics of a responsible life at an early age. And exposing me to the art of the possible - or put differently - the perspective of optimism.  My father took us abroad, he helped where help was needed, he dedicated his life to making the world a better and more just place and succeeded in teaching/showing/leading people in many different countries in many different enviornments how to help themselves.  In doing so, my parents exposed their children to the world's rich and diversified cultures, and the concepts of inclusion, acceptance and understanding. You see, my father and mother were what I call "actualizers," they actually got stuff done, and getting it done meant helping their fellow man, and they did it with great integrity and respect for one's heritage and cultural differences.  Life's lessons, earned through life - yes much for which to be thankful.

One lesson retained throughout my life is the concept of accountability for one's decisions. I am often heard to say, "the choice is yours," rarely are their situations without a choice. Thus the responsible life requires one to be both accountable and responsible for their life's choices, as life fortunately or unfortunately is not graded on the curve, but is pass or fail.  But choosing poorly is an opportunity to learn and not the end of the road, providing one learns from those opportunities.  For having second chances, I am most thankful.

So how did this "day of thanks" become a national holiday within the United States?  It all began, we are told, in 1621 with the Pilgrims and Indians in Plymouth, Massachusetts celebrating their harvest, the five surviving Pilgrim women prepared a bountiful feast, a feast made possible by the knowledge imparted to the Pilgrims by the Patuxet Indian named Tisquantum, anglicized as Squanto, on the planting of corn, squash and beans together, tapping of the maple trees, etc. Those with knowledge, assisted those without.  Those who knew how to survive and exist, helped those who hungered for both knowledge and sustanence.  Those Pilgrams had much for which to be thankful.

With this, a tradition was born, and continued, mostly in New England and those westward areas of America where those from New England migrated over time.  In 1863 Sarah Josepha Hale, a prominent midwest magazine editor, wrote a letter to Lincoln urging him to have the "day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival." She wrote, "You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritive fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution." In 1863, Lincoln was President of a nation embroiled in a civil war, a war which was consuming the nation.  Lincoln seized upon the notion of a day of thanks as an opportunity to bring the disparate portions of the country together.  On October 3, 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed that a Day of Thanksgiving will occur in the United States:

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.  Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

The year was 1863, the message apropos to 2009.
We have so much to be thankful for in 2009, and while it is easy to close the blinds and be satiated with our quality of life, if one pulls back the shades of our collective lives we see people both near and far are existing within turmoil and far too many within angst.  We worry about so many issues - war, poverty, physical safety and security of our families and neighborhoods, learning environments for our children, the far too rapid maturation of our children, slavery both near and far, exploitation of our children, online safety, and of course the basic tenant of life, food and water - add these up the total is formidable.

You see, we live in unsettled times, and while I  don't have all the answers.  Let's step back to 1863 - if you were ill, your neighbors would come to assist you both with remedies as well as to help with your crops. If your family had members in the service of their nation, others would step in and assist. If you had no food, your neighbor assisted as best they could with open hand.  Today our nation has many million more inhabitants, is engaged in two separate conflicts abroad, has no national health strategy, individual privacy is dissipating and our online and physical safety and security present us with individual challenges as funding for civil services are drastically reduced, it is far too easy to forget our roots - so I ask you to take a moment and reflect.

We can make it possible for food to be available to all.  We can make it possible for the basics of health care to be available to all.  We can have the best education system in the world, available to all, not just those with deep pockets.  We can keep our children safe, both in the physical world, as well as the virtual online world.  We can be a nation of healthy individuals. We can embrace diversity and demonstrate tolerance, especially in the United States, a nation of immigrants.

Please, in the coming year, look for opportunities to make a difference.

In my remaining years I will remain dedicated to service to all, therefore, I will continue to speak from the heart and shine light upon the many safety, security and humanitarian issues which address us.

May your Thanksgiving Day be joyous.  We have much about which to be thankful.

Thank you for your time.

All the best,

Christopher
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President Obama's Thanksgiving Day Proclamation (PDF):

November 23, 2009
Presidential Proclamation -- Thanksgiving Day

A PROCLAMATION

What began as a harvest celebration between European settlers and indigenous communities nearly four centuries ago has become our cherished tradition of Thanksgiving. This day's roots are intertwined with those of our Nation, and its history traces the American narrative.

Today, we recall President George Washington, who proclaimed our first national day of public thanksgiving to be observed "by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God," and President Abraham Lincoln, who established our annual Thanksgiving Day to help mend a fractured Nation in the midst of civil war. We also recognize the contributions of Native Americans, who helped the early colonists survive their first harsh winter and continue to strengthen our Nation. From our earliest days of independence, and in times of tragedy and triumph, Americans have come together to celebrate Thanksgiving.

As Americans, we hail from every part of the world. While we observe traditions from every culture, Thanksgiving Day is a unique national tradition we all share. Its spirit binds us together as one people, each of us thankful for our common blessings.

As we gather once again among loved ones, let us also reach out to our neighbors and fellow citizens in need of a helping hand. This is a time for us to renew our bonds with one another, and we can fulfill that commitment by serving our communities and our Nation throughout the year. In doing so, we pay tribute to our country's men and women in uniform who set an example of service that inspires us all. Let us be guided by the legacy of those who have fought for the freedoms for which we give thanks, and be worthy heirs to the noble tradition of goodwill shown on this day.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 26, 2009, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage all the people of the United States to come together, whether in our homes, places of worship, community centers, or any place where family, friends and neighbors may gather, with gratitude for all we have received in the past year; to express appreciation to those whose lives enrich our own; and to share our bounty with others.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA