Why Pause and Reflect?
There’s something special and rejuvenating about taking a moment to pause and reflect on our national tradition of Thanksgiving. As we prepare to celebrate the holidays and our 250th American birthday, I found a few past selections from presidential proclamations and Thanksgiving prayers worth a read with a cup of coffee or tea. Let me know what you think. Being thankful and thoughtful is not a partisan issue, so it should give us common ground with our fellow Americans.
George Washington’s November 26,1789 Proclamation
“Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation: for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.”
Abraham Lincoln’s October 3,1863 Thanksgiving Prayer
“…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…”
Grover Cleveland’s October 25, 1887 Message
“Let families and kindred be reunited on that day and let their hearts, filled with kindly cheer and affectionate reminiscence, be turned to the source of all their pleasures and to the Giver of all
that makes the day bright and joyous. And in the midst of our worship and enjoyments, let us remember the poor, the needy, and the unfortunate: and by our gifts of charity and ready benevolence, let us increase the number of those who with grateful hearts shall join in our Thanksgiving.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s November 13, 1933 Appeal
“May we on that day in our churches and in our homes give humble thanks for the blessings bestowed upon us during the year past by Almighty God. May we recall the courage of those who settled a wilderness, the vision of those who founded the Nation, the steadfastness of those who in every succeeding generation have fought to keep pure the ideal of equality of opportunity and hold clear the goal of mutual help in time of prosperity as in time of adversity.”
Ronald Reagan’s November 19, 1983 Unity Call
“Although we are a pluralistic society, the giving of thanks can be a true bond of unity among our people. We can unite in gratitude for our individual freedoms and individual faiths. We can be united in gratitude for our Nation’s peace and prosperity when so many in this world have neither.
As was written in the first Thanksgiving Proclamation 120 years ago, “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.” . . .
Common Threads & Modern Takeaways
May we all consider the past year and pause to give thanks for the many blessings of liberty we still have, carrying this shared gratitude forward. In doing so, we honor the past while building a more united future for all Americans.
This is Common Sense Civics and Citizenship.🇺🇸
Read more at:
