“AMERICA, Prideful or Thankful – Is There A Difference?”
Following 9/11, the expression “Proud to be an American,” became a popular expression, and even became a part of our musical lore. In her defining speech, Mrs. Obama made a statement to the effect that because her husband had become the Democratic nominee for President; she was for the first time proud of her country. My thinking is that pride is a derivative of a personal accomplishment of one’s intention and effort, or the success of others in which one shares an effort. If I hit four home runs in one game, I would be proud, not thankful.
When I stand among others where there is a division of nations, then I am “Proud to be an American.” When I watch the raising of our beautiful flag and listen to our national anthem as one of our Olympians is honored, I am proud, because as a fellow American, I share in their success. However, I am not likely to be heard saying, “I am proud to be an American” in any other context. What you will hear me say is, “I am thankful to be an American.”
Being an American does not relate to anything that I have done. It has nothing to do with any choice I made in order to be an American, nor does it indicate that I had to accomplish a particular thing. I am American by birth and by choices made by others long before my time. For that, I am indeed thankful.
Now my wife, Shirley, can justly say that she is “Proud to be an American.” She has that right because she made a choice to leave her country to live with me in mine. She sacrificed much to gain what I was born with. She had to live here as an alien with few rights and no inheritance. She had to study, pass an examination, go through a physical exam, and take an oath and be sworn in by an officer of the U.S.A. She can justly say, “I am proud to be an American.” I, on the other hand, can only be thankful. Others suffered; many gave their lives so that I could be American. To them all, I can only say, “I am thankful.”
This week Americans paused to observe a national day of Thanksgiving, an act initiated by our country first President, George Washington. No one was more qualified to do so. I am appreciative of the fact that this first national holiday was initiated by him and not some later President. He was the Commanding General of our military, such as it was. He had experienced and shared with those men through their long ordeal, he had prayed for them and for the cause for which they were fighting. He knew better than any other person that their victory was due to what he described as Divine Providence. No one understood as he did that without the Divine guidance and favor of Almighty God, there would never have been a United States of America and generations would pass before the opportunity would come again to break free from the oppressive powers of government.
Today, by and large, our nation is revealed for what it is in pride and arrogance. Today, we are not nearly so thankful for that Divine Providence as the generation that celebrated that first Thanksgiving in quiet piety, around the family table. The hunger, the cold, the loss of fortune, the vacant chairs around the table, were yet too fresh in their memories of the price that had been paid to secure this God-given right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
There may be no more damning sin than the sin of unthankfulness. God’s Son, Jesus, addressed this issue when, after healing ten lepers and having only one return to give thanks, He asked where were the other nine.
Truly, I sincerely believe that it is possible for us to turn things around in our world if we – one by one – would choose to be thankful, and then express it around everyone we come in contact with. The only things that cannot be changed are the things we THINK cannot be changed, and everything begins one-by-one. Let’s give it a shot and see where it takes us as we depart this “Thanksgiving Season 2008” – for after all, what do we have to lose?
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