I have not watched more than a few minutes of the debates between the candidates for the Democratic Presidential nomination,but I will guess that none of the many candidates ever took the opportunity to say how fortunate they were to live in the USA.
Senator Elizabeth Warren is a good example of someone who admittedly rose from the fringes of poverty to become a multi-millionaire, law professor, US Senator, and now among the leaders for her party’s nomination for the Presidency. Where is the gratitude? Does she realize that her story could probably happen only in America?
The other candidates seem to be cut from the same cloth. It is true that former Vice President Joe Biden is a white male but his family fell on hard times when he was a child. Nevertheless, after virtually a lifetime in government, he became Vice-President and now at age 77 hopes to be elected President. In the course of his public service, he also managed to become a multi-millionaire.
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an avowed Socialist, has been complaining about America for most of his 78 years. According to him, everything is wrong in America. Yet, despite the fact that he represents one of the smallest states in the country, he is a leading candidate for the Presidency.
The other candidates back in the pack also find it hard to find anything good in America. According to them, Sexism, Racism, and Homophobia are rampant. Nevertheless, does Senator Kamela Harris of California, a woman of color, ever publicly give thanks that her parents migrated to this country? Does Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey ever show gratitude that a black man could make it into the Senate from the state of New Jersey with its majority white population, and now even aspire to the Presidency? Where is the gratitude from Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana? How did this openly gay politician manage to overcome pervasive homophobia and now have the opportunity to run for President?
These candidates don’t seem to realize that there are not that many countries in the world where women, minorities, and homosexuals can even aspire to leadership and success. China is rounding up minorities and putting them into re-education camps. What is the status of women in Saudi Arabia and other Moslem countries? In Russia, homosexuals must stay in the closet.
Why doesn’t anyone of these politicians realize that they could set themselves apart from the pack if they would only show some gratitude for what America has done for them and for most of its people?
They don’t have to mimic President Trump and claim they want to make America great. They need only say that it is a good country most of whose people, laws, and institutions are basically good. Of course, they could point out that there are things that need to be fixed and that they could work to fix them.
Last Sunday a men’s organization at my church took up a collection to provide coats for children in the Bridgeport area. I suppose that only a small percentage of children would have been without coats this winter. Let’s say it’s 5 percent. Progressives will likely be shocked that there are poor children without coats and blame Capitalism and income inequality even though the population of Bridgeport is overwhelmingly Democratic. It will never occur to them to be thankful for the fact that 95 percent of children do have coats. Moreover, I also doubt they will utter thanks for those private citizens who take up collections to provide for the needy.
Also last weekend, a large group of protestors held up the completion of the Yale Harvard football classic to urge the universities to divest themselves of any holdings in fossil fuel companies. I wonder if these climate-change protestors realized that most couldn’t have even driven to the Yale Bowl without cars powered by fossil fuel. I also doubt they would ever offer thanks to those companies that provide the oil and gas that will keep them and most of the poor children in Bridgeport warm this winter.
My wife and I have had much to be thankful for over our 80 years. Our grandparents came to this country from Italy with nothing but their own traditions, customs, and religion. Like most children of immigrants our parents came to love America and worked hard to provide for their children and give them a standard of living that is still the envy of the world.
Even today, in a country that seems hopelessly divided politically, there is more reason to hope than fear. The very ardor of our disagreements is a source of strength especially when we consider that in many parts of the world, there is no room for deviation from the party line.
Happy Thanksgiving.
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