Thanksgiving 2008

By Robert E. Freer, Jr., President of The Free Enterprise Foundation

O Lord that lends me life, Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.~William Shakespeare

It has been an eventful year; tough on many of us, and the year ahead beckons with its continuing challenges and uncertainties. These times, troubling though they are, are full of blessings that make us realize that these times too will pass and a better day waits, just beyond the bend in the road, beckoning us to that better future.

Presidents in earlier times of challenge have called us to prayer, reminded us of our singular blessings of liberty and urged us to commit our energies to the betterment of what is already the best country on God’s globe. Read what George Washington said in his first national call for Thanksgiving in 1789, “Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a Day of Publick Thanksgiving and Prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

Other presidents in difficult times have reminded us of the importance of prayer and a heart inward dwelling on what God has granted, not on that which with his help we have yet to achieve. President Lincoln, in the sad aftermath of Gettysburg, called for the last Thursday in November to be a day of "Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father." And Teddy Roosevelt reminded us, "Let us remember that as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips and shows itself in deeds". Again in 1905, he added, "....We are not threatened by foe from without. The foes from whom we should pray to be delivered are our own passions, appetites and follies, and against these there is always need that we should war."

Our Century is new, but our times repeat the miseries of bygone eras when we have strayed from God’s path. To be successful, our future will require abundance of old fashioned patience, prudence, faithfulness and prayer. Going forward our steps to extricate ourselves from the mire will be rewarded if they are directed toward regaining that Shining City on A Hill of which President Reagan spoke so eloquently. The God of which he spoke is an inclusive presence in the hearts of all men of good will and is the burnish on the Puritan goals for living. Centuries before, John Winthrop addressed this goal as follows:

"For we must consider that we shall be as a City Upon a Hill, the eyes of all people are upon us; so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken and so cause him to withdraw his present help from us,...we shall shame the faces of many of God's worthy servants and cause their prayers to be turned into curses until we be consumed out of the good land whither we are going..."

This Thanksgiving, like those of yore, while beset with challenge, we are blest with abundance, the love of good friends and family and a future rich with an opportunity to perfect the soul driven quest of our ancestors to complete the promise for which they dedicated their lives to make our land into the last best hope of earth.

They, like us, took pride in their families, in their freedoms and in their ability to direct their energy where they would, to make of their lives the best they could. Americans are no one’s subject but serve together with friends and family in perfecting a better community and a better life. So many generations have imagined “What would my grandparents think of the life I am now able to lead?” Today’s generation too thirsts to reclaim that dream of passing on a better life to their children. Many are fearful that, overwhelmed with forces they do not understand and cannot control, we are losing the dream. What is it we pass to our children that will help them endure and be comforted as their lives progress?

Be not afraid. Our parents’ America is here all around us. It is not something that takes an act of government. We encounter it everyday around the family table, at the grocery store, at work and in a thousand interchanges with our fellow citizens. From it we fulfill our dreams as well as provide the culmination of their own.

From a thousand little acts, we forge a mosaic of tomorrow’s America. It is found in our country’s basic decency, and the love we feel for each other. It is in our sacrifice for neighbor, for community and for family that our children and neighbors can see. It is in cleaner air, cleaner water, and preserved natural wonders that have come from the work of the last generation and are now ours to preserve and defend. It is in the voluntary effort we make to help those less blessed to be comforted and cared for by the many among us that value service above self. We are blessed by those angels who live amongst us; perhaps, you are one, who improves the world about them by leaving a little bit of themselves wherever they go.

Look around you. More often than not you will find as I have in the classes that I teach, students who tell me that “I am thankful for great parents who couldn’t have brought me up any better. I am thankful for the values and morals they set in me at a very young age.” Included in that message is the assurance it will be carried on. That same student says, "Also my siblings are blessings to me as well; not only are they my siblings, they are my best friends just like my parents.”

Have a Happy Thanksgiving. There is far more to be thankful for than to lament. As for the world’s cares, they will be there tomorrow, and tomorrow we will be better able to meet them for the love and thanksgiving we have shared together. As for me, I feel blessed not only by family and colleagues but by all of you who read my thoughts. This is my 96th column for The Mercury. Along the way, many of you have become good friends, and I am far better for it. Thank you for taking me into your minds and hearts. I am so blessed.

Copyright © 2008 by Robert E. Freer, Jr. All rights reserved

About the author: Robert E. Freer, Jr. is President of The Free Enterprise Foundation. He is a Visiting Professor, at The Citadel and elected in 2005 to be their first John S. Grinalds Leader in Residence. A regular contributor to the Mercury, He can be reached by E-mail at The Citadel . Copies of his earlier columns can be found The Free Enterprise Foundation.

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