In this globalized world that looks less like a brotherhood of man and more like a simmering cauldron of fractious tribes, our national indissoluble traditions may be our one saving grace. We should continue to commemorate the celebration meal of Pilgrims and the Native American Wampanoag’s; we should continue to celebrate the feelings of charity and gratefulness essential for our own lives. We as Americans, as a nation are faced with this challenge: Will we remain bonded together in thanksgiving or divided by imagined wrongs. If we desire to have a flourishing future America in which many are bound into one people, Thanksgiving can’t be ceded to those who are working tirelessly to place unbridgeable barriers between us.
If history has taught us little else, it has taught us that others have faced perceived insurmountable grief and challenges before us. However, the highly colorful patchwork of our diverse citizenry is woven together to form a fabric that is as sturdy as it is aesthetically pleasing. A Nation comprised of individuals living in a land where we are free. Reflecting on the words penned by President Lincoln a century and a half ago, and looking through the lens of freedom, we see that we truly do have much to be thankful for. In my case it’s Christ in me, the hope of glory, family, friends to include those on Facebook and Twitter, every Soldier, Sailor, Marine, Airman and Coastguardsman who continue to make this possible, and strangers who offer a kind word. The freedom to worship in our own personal ways. The freedom to express our views and listen to the views of others. Yes, it is indeed a good time to pause to give thanks. Despite those who would abandon historicity, tradition and acquiesce to those who espouse identity politics, historic revision, collectivism under its many guises, and the secularization of America, I am thankful to live in the land of the free and home of the brave.
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