THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 23, 1995 TAG: 9511230018
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A18 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 48 lines
Most gracious God, by whose know-ledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew; We yield thee unfeigned thanks and praise for the return of seed-time and harvest, for the increase of the ground and the gathering in of the fruits thereof, and for all the other blessings of thy merciful providence bestowed upon this nation and people. And, we beseech thee, give us a just sense of these great mercies; such as may appear in our lives by an humble, holy, and obedient walking before thee all our days. . . - From The Book of Common Prayer (1928)
America the beautiful is not without conspicuous blemishes. But a country to which each year a million or so foreigners come to make a freshstart clearly retains its appeal for multitudes.
The yearning that still leads so many foreigners to settle in the United States is a far cry from the emotions that prompt so many Americans to grouse about their lot, prospects, neighbors, government.
So angry and so loud are the aggrieved that their complaints often obscure the accomplishments of a dynamic society composed of 262 million people, most of whom spend most of their time doing more or less their best by others and themselves, at home, at school, at work.
We confront real difficulties and weather genuine disappointments. Social discord, economic uncertainty and senseless violence blight our pursuit of happiness. Popular culture's coarseness exacerbates our fear that things are awry. Our demonizing of political opponents and people who are different stimulates murderous passions in the unstable. The fading of the great American job has heightened our vulnerability.
But on this Thanksgiving Day, we are neither at war nor demoralized by a great economic depression. Most of us are far more fortunate materially than the 17th-century European settlers who counted themselves blessed.
Yes, the nation's racial divide seems unbridgeable, but it isn't - many of us cooperate to bridge it. Many Americans are in want, but many of us who aren't contribute in ways large and small to provide food, clothing, shelter, comfort and healing to the needy.
On this day we number not what we lack but what we have. And by historical standards, we are uncommonly blessed. by CNB