Thanksgiving is a time when we look back at the year, or even longer, and give thanks for the things in our lives that have worked out well, the relationships, the memories, the successes, the tough times we made it through. It is a time to celebrate our relationships with family and friends and those who have been supportive of our journey or are near and dear to us. It is a time for sharing and for positive thoughts.
It is also a time to have the humility to see that not everyone has been as fortunate as we have been. We live in a society in which we are relatively free to live according to our beliefs and speak freely. Not everyone has those luxuries.
There are many in this nation, and certainly in the world, whose lives are significantly different from ours. And part of the reason for that is that they pay the price for the good things in our lives.
They suffer this fate not because they are less deserving, but mostly because of forces well beyond their control. They are often left with little to no power and vulnerable to be exploited for the benefit of those with the power.
We need the courage to accept the reality that those on the upper level of wealth and power within this nation are a significant part of those who benefit from that powerlessness of peoples and nations.
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One of the responsibilities of people within a nation founded on democratic principles is to be concerned for others who are not as fortunate and to work to find ways to include them in the family of humankind, all equally deserving of a sustainable life.
It is a time to celebrate, to remember, to rededicate ourselves, and to act.
Bob Passi
Baxter
