It's a strange juxtaposition of themes as our nation gets ready to celebrate Thanksgiving. On one hand, we get ready to celebrate the congregating of family and friends around the traditional festive dining room table laden with turkey, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.
On the other hand is the recent drumbeat of terrible economic news, generally punctuated with a breathless "worst since the Great Depression..." - while children in some of our public schools are indoctrinated with stories of the first Thanksgiving interpreted as Eurocentric genocide.
Perhaps both the idealized Norman Rockwell version and the apologetic politically correct reinterpretation are too extreme to be totally believable. That doesn't mean that we don't live in the greatest nation on earth. No other nation has ever been conceived with more lofty ideals. If the reality doesn't always live up to the ideals, it's because of the fallibility of individuals, not of our national purpose.
We must differentiate between the disparate goals of "equality of results" versus "equality of opportunity". The United States of America is still a beacon of opportunity for the world - as evidenced by the continuing situation on our borders as we attempt to control the stream of immigrants trying to get in!
As we celebrate this holiday with our families and friends, let us not dwell on the recent loss of value of our homes and 401Ks. Let's be thankful that we HAVE the blessing of families, homes and 401Ks! Ours is a most generous country. Americans have rushed to the aid of those whose homes have been ravaged by fire or flood. We have given aid to those in need both at home and abroad.
I wish you all a Thanksgiving of joy, appreciation, and hope!
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