Today, we Americans celebrate our finest holiday, Thanksgiving. For the third year in a row, I’m overseas. I’ll be joining a group of expatriates in Hong Kong this evening, but I will miss my family and friends at home.
America shone with citizenship at its best for a few days following the Sept. 11 attacks. Smugness has faded, but pettiness and greed — for naked power and wealth — remain too much the coin of the land.
There are still plenty of pilgrims around. They refuse to accept the way things are. They reject pure grasping for power and money. They are outnumbered and outspent in the halls of power, but their day may return if the people recognize what is happening.
For all our flaws, we are still a great nation. Tonight I will raise a glass to family and far-away friends. I will pay silent salute to the brave people worldwide who champion and fight for justice.
My material table overflows with bounty this Thanksgiving. I am grateful beyond words for a life of comfort and relative safety in a deeply troubled world. I don’t think I’ve ever taken such things for granted, but in this time of conflict those blessings count for so much more.
I’m grateful, too, for my opportunity to constantly explore and learn. I hope to sustain a spiritual pilgrimage — for life, for justice.
And on Thanksgiving Day 2001, I wish the same for you.