Thanksgiving: A note of gratitude to those who have persevered
On its face, it would seem hard to be thankful in a year that brought us the Parkland massacre, hurricanes that ravaged the Florida Panhandle and the Carolinas, and fires that reduced towns to ashes in California.
Politically, our discourse has devolved into a panoply of insults and reckless, unsubstantiated accusations. As a state and nation, we remain split over an array of issues with seemingly the slimmest of hopes for bridging the ideological and political divides.
But as we gather around our dinner tables today for sumptuous feasts, we do so as one nation governed by democratic principles and ideals.
Our first president, George Washington, proclaimed the first national Thanksgiving observance as a newly born nation sought to establish roots after a major revolution.
Nearly a century later, in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it a permanent national holiday in the middle of the Civil War.
Thereafter, we stuck together as a nation that persevered through two world wars that bracketed the Great Depression, as well as subsequent conflicts foreign and domestic that tested our unity.
Through it all, there was great suffering, and 2018 was no different than previous years.
So it is appropriate to give thanks to the very people who survived tragedy and hardship. Most notably, they include survivors of the Parkland shootings who demanded change almost immediately after the traumas that befell them. They also include the survivors of devastating storms and fires who are now trying to rebuild their lives.
We should express gratitude for their resiliency, knowing they have set examples for the future. We should thank them for demonstrating strength and resolve to the rest of us in the face of adversity.
This week, former Archbishop Desmond Tutu presented the International Children’s Peace Prize in South Africa to students who are members of the March for Our Lives organization, which was born in Parkland.
During a ceremony in Cape Town, Tutu called the organization one of the most significant youth-led mass movements in memory and its founders "true changemakers." The students visited more than 80 communities in 24 states to register young voters and raise awareness about gun violence.
"I am in awe of these children, whose powerful message is amplified by their youthful energy and an unshakable belief that children can — no, must — improve their own futures," Tutu said.
We should also thank military service members who are abroad in the interests of our national security, and who won’t be with relatives and friends at family dinner tables today. We should be grateful to first responders who rescued and gave comfort to victims of natural disasters.
And we should express gratitude to the farm workers of many backgrounds who harvest the mighty food bounties from the fields and orchards of Florida and elsewhere around the nation.
As we noted in a previous salute to this national holiday, “the great thing about Thanksgiving is we can all celebrate it without concern about religion, or worrying that we are upsetting our neighbors. Thanksgiving is for everyone to enjoy, regardless of how we pray or even if we pray.”
As the day unfolds, understand it is a time to be thankful for all of those who gather round the dinner table, and for all of the friends, relatives and colleagues we hold dear.
And then, we should keep our eyes fixed on Nov. 27, a day known as Giving Tuesday, when people around the world collectively support organizations that seek to improve individual lives and communities. There are multiple charities in South Florida that would welcome our collective involvement region-wide.
We should do this because we know it is past time to recognize and aid those who have much less than we possess today.