The Greatest Gift
It isn’t what you have in your pocket that makes you thankful,
but what you have in your heart.
Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are close together calendar
wise. Both are occasions for us to appreciate our good fortune to be American
citizens. We live in a land of freedom and opportunity. We can worship and
speak freely. We can choose our government and expect it to govern in
accordance with our wishes. Justice is a right for all, as is privacy. But as
you read this, do you feel somewhat cynical? Are you saying to yourself - it
isn’t quite like that anymore? What has changed?
This beautiful season is not the occasion to particularize
about what has deteriorated in America over the last thirty years. It is the opportunity for us to
remind ourselves that if we perceive that America is not morally what it was in
the not too distant past…we probably have ourselves to blame.
The best Christmas gift of all is the presence of a happy
family all wrapped up with one another.
If we centralize our efforts on the values that made America
great; fundamental things like encouraging our children to read, to enjoy the
arts, to be clean, to dress with some dignity, to be kind to others, to compete
fairly, to be polite, to respect all property and the personal values of those
we may not fully understand. If we can learn to rekindle the love and affection
of matrimonial normalcy with a genuine regard for moderation and decency in all
things pertaining to life, we will quickly rectify the social problems that
beset us today.
The true spirit of Thanksgiving and Christmas lies not in what
we are about to receive, but in what we are willing to give to our families,
our friends, our neighbors, our countrymen - and the world. Love thy neighbor as
thyself; and above all…love thy child enough to teach right from wrong. The
world will be a better place - and we’ll all have much more to be thankful for
- and our rejoicing will be heartfelt.
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