Words To Live By: Gratitude and Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is just a few days away, a time when we take stock of our many blessings and take an extra moment to let our loved ones know our deepest feelings of appreciation. As you recall, President Reagan was a deeply grateful man, who told the American people in his first Thanksgiving proclamation, that, “America has much for which to be thankful. The unequaled freedom enjoyed by our citizens has provided a harvest of plenty to this Nation throughout its history. In keeping with America's heritage, one day each year is set aside for giving thanks to God for all of His blessings.” Another example of his commitment to gratitude occurred when the hostages held in Iran for 444 days were freed in January 1981, President Reagan created a special national day of Thanksgiving to honor their sacrifice and safe return.

Daily messages of gratitude were simple part of who President Reagan was. During his November 14, 1988 remarks at a Presentation Ceremony for the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Awards he said, “America will celebrate Thanksgiving, a time when the Nation looks back, takes stock, and gives thanks for the personal and economic freedoms with which Americans are blessed. As a nation, we have much to be thankful for.”

So in today’s "Words To Live By,' let’s accentuate the positive. Let’s read some inspiring words from our 40th president on the occasion of…yes, Thanksgiving. He delivered two particularly good radio addresses on the subject, one in 1986 and the other in 1988. Let’s start with 1986 when he focuses on the importance of charity.

We’ll start with his November 22, 1986 radio address:

“My fellow Americans: 

“This coming Thursday we'll celebrate a holiday that belongs uniquely to our nation -- Thanksgiving Day. Millions of us will travel from all parts of the country to gather in family homes, observing the holiday according to longstanding tradition: turkey with all the fixings, pumpkin pie, laughter, the warmth of family, love, and, yes, a moment of prayer to give thanks. Yet, at the same time, many among us will be less fortunate. And just as Thanksgiving Day has always been an occasion for counting our blessings, so, too, it's always been a time for making life better among our fellow Americans. In churches and synagogues across the country, for example, food will be collected in the next few days for distribution to the needy, or on Thanksgiving Day itself. And with this spirit of Thanksgiving in mind, I thought I'd speak with you for a moment this afternoon about the goodness of the American people and our willingness to give each other a helping hand.

“The spirit of voluntarism is deeply ingrained in us as a nation. Maybe it has something to do with our history as a frontier land. Those early Americans who gave us Thanksgiving Day itself had to help each other in order to survive -- joining together to plant crops, build houses, and raise barns. And perhaps they discovered that in helping others their own lives were enriched. In our own day, a poll showed most Americans believe that no matter how big government gets and no matter how many services it provides, it can never take the place of volunteers. In other words, we Americans understand that there are no substitutes for gifts of service given from the heart.

“In our recent history, there was a time not long ago when this spirit seemed endangered, when philanthropy and personal involvement were giving way to bureaucratic plans and Federal programs. So, when our administration took office, we made it one of our main aims to encourage private sector initiatives, to reinvigorate the American tradition of voluntarism. And I have to admit, our success in this area is one of the accomplishments of which I'm most proud. For in the past few years, we've witnessed an unprecedented outpouring of the volunteer spirit, a tremendous reassertion of good will and neighborliness. Last year alone, individuals, corporations, bequests, and foundations gave nearly $80 billion to good causes -- a record high. You can see these volunteer efforts all around. Consider the United Way, founded a century ago next year. Today there are more than 2,200 local United Ways in communities throughout the country. Just last year the United Way raised more than $2.3 billion, supported more than 3,700 health and human care agencies and programs, and served millions of families. 

“In 1958, for example, Dr. William Walsh asked President Dwight Eisenhower for the use of an old hospital ship, mothballed after World War II. Ike provided that ship, charging rent of just $1 a year. And Dr. Walsh turned the old ship into Project HOPE, a seaborne hospital and medical school that traveled the world. Today Project HOPE has been modernized, and medical volunteers traveled by plane recently to El Salvador to help with the aftereffects of the devastating earthquake. 

“Then there's Just Say No, a largely volunteer organization that's teaching children around the world to say no to drugs. This organization got started when Nancy was visiting an elementary school in California. A little girl asked what to do if someone offered her drugs, and Nancy's answer was simple: ``Just say no.'' Well, not long ago, Nancy hosted a Just Say No rally here at the White House. More than 2,300 children attended. Although Just Say No requires school officials, teachers, and especially parents to devote to it a great deal of time, Nancy told me that everyone she spoke to at the rally was convinced that it's not only worth it but of vital importance for the future. 

“Local efforts may be less well known than major undertakings like Just Say No and Project HOPE, but to the very heart and soul of the American volunteer spirit, many of you'll be able to think of good works being performed in your own communities. I think of a house for the homeless here in Washington founded by a young priest, Father Jack Pfannenstiel, and sustained by his own hard work and that of volunteers. McKenna House offers shelter, food, and human concern for the homeless men right here in our Nation's Capital. Of course, we must do more, striving always to give of ourselves to those less fortunate. But it's good to reflect that here in America, perhaps more than in any other nation on Earth, we have a tradition of giving -- of neighbor helping neighbor -- that makes life better for tens of thousands every day. And for this, too, on Thanksgiving Day, let us give thanks. 

“Until next week, thanks for listening. God bless you. “

The next radio address, delivered in November 1988 just a few months before he left office, takes a different approach. You’ll see him review some of the economic and political successes and…what we could consider blessings…that he hopes Americans will acknowledge. And of course, a reminder of how truly fortunate we are to live in freedom.

“My fellow Americans:

“Over 350 years ago, a small band of Pilgrims, after gathering in their first harvest at Plymouth Colony, invited their friends and neighbors, who were Indians, to join them in a feast of thanksgiving. Together they sat around their bountiful table and bowed their heads in gratitude to the Lord for all that He had bestowed upon them. This week, so many years later, we, too, will gather with family and friends and, after saying grace, carve up a turkey, pass around the cranberries and dressing, and later share slices of pumpkin pie.

“We Americans have so much for which to be thankful. Think of the great expanse of our nation, the rolling hills of our immense farmland. Even in years of drought, as this year has been, the plows and the sweat of America's farmers call forth from our good Earth more food than we can possibly eat -- so much food that, taken together, our harvests of wheat, corn, soybeans, fruits, vegetables, and all the other bounty of our land make up one of our most important exports. Not only we but the entire world can be thankful for that. Millions of children across all the continents are happier, healthier, and stronger because of America's farmers.

“Now, think of our manufacturing centers. After almost a decade of hard, often painful work, cultivating our industrial fields to meet a whole new generation of world competition, this year we can see the first harvest of that work. Almost every American industry is zipping along at near-full capacity. A few years ago, journalists were calling the Midwest the Rust Belt. Now the Boom Belt would be more like it. From Lehigh Valley in eastern Pennsylvania to Dayton and Detroit and beyond, the factory whistles again sound in the old factory towns, and we hope they'll blow soon where they don't now. By the way, often those whistles are at the plants of entirely new companies, providing new products and services to the Nation and to the world.

“In the past year, America added 425,000 new manufacturing jobs, and when it comes to world competition, no one can stop us now. And that's not the only good news. According to one of the foremost authorities in manufacturing, Peter Drucker, the old myth about low wages and low manufacturing costs may be dead for good. In this age of high technology, factories, highly paid skilled workers -- America's kind of workers -- produce so efficiently that no one can touch them. That's why it's gratifying, but not surprising, to find out that America's manufacturing productivity has grown at one and a half times the postwar average during our expansion. And that's why this year, even as European and Japanese manufacturing employment has stagnated, our manufacturing employment has increased.

“But prosperity is not an end in itself. It helps us pay attention to the more important things: raising our children as we want them to be raised, helping others in need, and bringing nations together in peace.

“This week, world peace has been very much on my mind. Here in Washington, we've received visits from two of America's friends, Britain's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Germany's Chancellor Helmut Kohl. In our meetings, these two great leaders and I talked about the prosperity that all the nations of the industrial world enjoy and about the cuts in taxes and the return to the principles of the free market that have made it possible. And we talked about the success over the past 8 years of our policy of peace through strength.

“Yes, peace is another thing for which we can say a prayer of gratitude over the dinner table on Thursday, peace and abundance in this land that God has kissed. We will give thanks for these and one thing more: our freedom. Yes, in America, freedom seems like the air around us: It's there; it's sweet, though we rarely give it a thought. Yet as the air fills our lungs, freedom fills our souls. It gives breath to our laughter and joy. It gives voice to our songs. It gives us strength as we race for our dreams.

“Think of those around the world who cannot bow their heads in prayer without risking their lives. Think of those countries where to write an honest word or even to own a child's simple toy printing press is a crime. Think of how many countries where to dream of striking out on your own and starting a business is to take a chance not on a better life for yourself and your children but on a long stay in a prison cell. And then think of how blessed we are to be Americans.

“Yes, as we gather together this Thanksgiving to ask the Lord's blessings, as we of whatever faith we are give praises to His name, let us thank Him for our peace, prosperity, and freedom.

“Happy Thanksgiving! And until next week, thanks for listening, and God bless you.”

From all of us at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, we wish you a most meaningful and memorable Thanksgiving.

#RonaldReagan #Gratitude #Thanksgiving