IN DEFENSE OF COMMON SENSE
By Hetty Gray
“Give Thanks!”
November 25, 2014
It is really sad that so few of us think of giving thanks as a family group until that festive Thursday in November.
And here it is again! We will have our fill of good food and conversation, perhaps renewing old friendships or affirming newer ones.
Whether you gather in a private home or in a restaurant or café, please remember to take a moment to thank the soldier deployed and away from family. Few of us know what that must be like, but we cannot fail to appreciate the sacrifice that our military personnel make on our behalf.
Food takes center stage on Thursday, but there are so many other elements of thanksgiving in this country. We are free. Nothing tops that. We are able to pursue our chosen careers and travel about as we please.
Football games and naps tend to follow a heavy Thanksgiving meal, as hangs the pungent aroma of turkey and all the trimmings wafts gently from the kitchen as the cooks tidy up.
None of us has had to endure the suffering of those brave Pilgrims. None of us faced hardship in unfamiliar surroundings — harshness that took the lives of loved ones and friends. I wonder what they would think if they could beam themselves forward to this time and place. Undoubtedly, they would take pride in the nation that grew from such humble beginnings.
I refer to a statement made by Benjamin Franklin. Quoted in the Freedom’s Phoenix website, I add it here.
When asked what type of government the American people were going to participate in, by a well-meaning woman, a stern Benjamin Franklin warned that our new government was going to be “A republic, madam, if you can keep it.“
His quick response, I fear, has come back to haunt us. The site finished with the most pressing question of OUR day.
“Can we preserve our great country or will the American government be irretrievably lost to the special interests who would dare to use our country for their own ends, regardless of the cost.”
In all the government and political science lectures I have been privileged to hear, the Phoenix statement is one of the most profound. Can America rise again from the ashes gathering around its foundation like the fabled Phoenix?
We must give thanks for those spokesmen among us who see the danger and are not afraid of addressing it head on. The senior citizens among us worry about their grandchildren’s futures. They have reason to do so.
Thank God for America. Pray that God will preserve it for generations yet unborn. Thank God for freedom of religion. To this point, we still have it.