The day has finally arrived! Anticipating Thanksgiving is so much more than simply waiting for a feast to arrive, though it is that. Every savory and sweet food of the season makes its appearance. But more than that, loved ones make theirs; they find each other around the table once again, and that’s what really matters. Even those at a great distance who can’t travel this time are somehow here in spirit. As are the generations that passed before like a great mirage. Here at last.
For Americans, this Thanksgiving means even more. The past decade has been a tumultuous one, and not only for our country; the whole world experienced the agonies. But new birth somehow rises up out of ashes, so the seers and wise ones have often said. New birth rises up in the course of our individual lives, tossed and turned as they are. And new birth makes a collective showing, coming to us all, even though we may not realize the birthing that is taking place at the time.
What marks the year 2030 most is a spirit of hopefulness. Though life is never without its suffering and challenges of the moment, certain corners have been turned. It seems that the inhabitants of the blue planet are starting to realize it.
In the United States, new generations of citizens are rediscovering a lively pride in high ideals and practical solutions. Freedom, democracy and prosperity are gifts to be safeguarded and we have. We now understand more than ever before that our strength lies in our goodness, our ability to live by our principles of justice for all. To this end we have elected leaders who value our Constitution as not only a legal document, but a moral one; our responsive governance is rooted in the ideals of our people.
A new sense of unity flows through the land, not a unity based on a person, party or power, but a unity based in shared ideals. E Pluribus Unum. Out of many, one. And this Thanksgiving, when we look at our leaders, our Congress, our State and local governments, they reflect the true diversity of the United States of America. We are many, we are one. Our elections have changed from the bad old days of dark money and the powerful buying outcomes to instead a truly representative democracy of the people. We had to change many things to get there, and we did.
Since our country renewed a foreign policy tied to human rights and dignity, the rest of the world has once again turned to us for leadership, a city poised on a hill. Because we are in the forefront of strategic alliances for the good – for climate, security, economy, development and peacemaking – we have generated broad coalitions of just nations. Those who have not yet achieved those high levels of justice that are free of corruption and tyranny have been sidelined … until they can or will.
Because we have doubled down on corruption in our country, our decision-making is more straight forward, with less possibility for abusing our essential freedoms. With fair tax codes that foster the participation of all citizens and corporations according to the degree to which they have prospered, we can afford to fund what is most important to us. Ever since we decided and then brought into reality a baseline of accessible health care for every citizen, we have become healthier, more able to contribute, and less burdened by illness and debt.
Since we embraced the power of new immigrant citizens to our country, they have been generators of the new economy, an economy that builds on new, ecologically prosperous methods. As our trade with partner countries has enlarged, old problems with crime reduced. Entire regions of the world began to flourish in their own ways as they escaped the deathtraps of despair. Suddenly, issues of borders became unimportant. Hope was everywhere. Partnerships flourished. And true competition with and between global partners drew out our best.
On Thanksgiving 2030 we are grateful that the arts are flourishing and spirituality has taken on new and lively forms that engage with our highest concerns. No one religion dominates any other, but the practice of every expression is protected. Since gun owners themselves rose up several years ago to insist on reasonable approaches to gun ownership, the fatalities have reduced and mass shootings almost abated. We feel safer and saner because our children are secure.
The past ten years have taken us to our dark side and back. We experienced the ugly face of racism that still haunts us. Because this hatred and prejudice rose up in plain sight, we were able to see it and name it as evil, as wrong, as something we must overcome. We do not justify these impulses. And our remedies have moved into cities, military, commerce, talk radio, television and internet. It is no longer acceptable to discriminate or voice hate. Our leaders denounce it. Our citizens are painfully aware of it. We have rooted out the ways it has impacted the justice system and incarceration.
With heightened awareness of our precarious environmental position, we have finally stopped denying the damage we do to our own planetary home. Our participation in broad coalitions to eliminate green house emissions, our efforts to protect our air, land and water from degradation is now seen as our new normal. Surprisingly, those who use to be some of the worst violators have developed some of the best solutions. We protect endangered species, honor set-aside conserved lands, and avoid despoiling our environment. Because it is a global problem, we participate in global solutions, and lead in those efforts.
Because we have embraced the virtues of justice for all, compassion, fairness, the rule of law, opportunity for prosperity, and investing in the forces that shape the future like education, infrastructure, and innovation, we have become a people of abundance and not scarcity. What’s more, we know that it is in our interest and the interest of global neighbors to encourage this same prosperity elsewhere. We cannot do it alone. Our interests are intertwined with the world’s interests.
Every Thanksgiving arrives with stories of loss, of struggle and new birth. This one, the Thanksgiving of 2030, is a special landmark one for all of us. Years ago, back when we wondered what would become of us as we passed through exceedingly dark times, we could only navigate by hope. It was the only thing we had. But now in retrospect we can see that hope was enough. Hope joined with the powers of the Spirit, the resiliency of our humanity, powers of which we were then only vaguely aware.
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