Giving thanks, gaining strength

$$$Start

KENNETT, Mo. -- I have no idea what we Americans expressed gratitude for on Thanksgiving 2001, but I would be less than honest if I did not admit to some thought about our future as we began the difficult task of confronting a faceless, terrorist enemy.

In many respects this year's holiday was similar to earlier Thanksgivings when we faced challengers who called themselves Nazis or North Koreans or Viet Cong or Soviets, but the list does not stop there. During the life span of just one generation we have met the challenges for a wide array of aggressors, all of them dedicated to the goal of destroying a civilization that has reached undreamed heights and one which has become the envy of societies that found it difficult to impossible to emulate.

But just as each day bears a resemblance but not a similarity to the previous one, this year's enemy, by whatever name it is known, has displayed a hatred for America as intense as any encountered. There are numerous dichotomies to be found in the latest crisis and we would be foolish not to recall them as U.S. soldiers seek to defend the nation in areas of the world previously unknown to the vast majority of us.

Each war America has fought over more than two centuries has centered on foreign contempt for what we choose to call the American Way of Life and a system of government that is dedicated to the protection and furtherance of freedom. In each case, our enemies have systematically withheld from their own people the freedoms we believe in so strongly: The freedom to govern ourselves, to worship the religions we choose, the dignity of work, a system of justice that guarantees rights to the accused, protection for both the majority and the minority, the right to be secure and protected and the freedom to express our personal views without fear or intimidation.

These rights and guarantees make up the soul of America, and their importance lies not only in their longevity but in their strength and boldness.

To guarantee these rights we have formed varied forms of government, starting in Washington and ending in city halls all across our 50 states. And the philosophy of these governments is revealed by the lines that connect hundreds of decisions that are made on a day-to-day basis.

Over the course of our history, these lines have occasionally meandered and formed unclear images, but the final result has always been that this process has led to finding the best approach to policy dilemmas. Some have called this process "divine inspiration" or "progressive pragmatism," while other believe the genius of the system provides its own answers. Whatever it is called, it has proven that government can be a force for good.

I believe most of us support the premise that government's purpose is to allow those blessed with talent to go as far as they can -- on their own merits. But we must also recognize that such a government also has an obligation to assist those who, for whatever inscrutable reason, have been left out by fate: the destitute, the infirm, the homeless. To help provide those necessary things which, through no fault of their own, they cannot provide for themselves. Of course we should have only the government we need. But we must continue to insist on all the government we need.

It has become popular in some quarters to argue that the principal function of government is to make instruments of war and to clear obstacles from the way of the strong. The rest, it is said, will happen automatically; the cream will rise to the top, whether the cream is endowed individuals of fortunate regions of the nation.

"Survival of the fittest" may be a good working description of the process of evolution, but the government of humans should elevate itself to a higher order, one which rise to fill the cruel gaps left by chance or by a wisdom we don't understand. If a vote were taken, most of us would rather have our laws written by the Rev. Billy Graham or Pope John Paul II than by Darwin.

What our imperfect but peerless system of government has done for frightened immigrants from Europe, Africa and Asia it has done for millions of others in different ways. This record is a source of pride and gratitude, but it must be more, it must serve as a challenge for all of us as we face an uncertain future. The achievements of our past impose upon us the obligation to serve our nation and its leader as they face the unknown dangers facing us today.

For all of our present travails -- threats of terrorism, a stagnant economy, growing unease among both the comforted and uncomfortable, the loss of spirit and belief -- for all of this, I believe we are wise enough to address our concerns with strength rather than weakness, with our vision rather than closed minds, with compassion rather than neglect.

We can, and we will, refuse to settle just for survival, and certainly not just survival of the fittest. We can, even in the darkest of moments, stand now on platforms built by our forebears' pain and are warmed by the applause earned by their courage, remembering who we are and where we came from and what we have learned and been taught.

Those who made our history taught us about all things the idea of family, mutuality, the sharing of benefits and burdens, fairly and for the good of all. It is an idea essential to our success, our existence.

If the risks we face are great, the resources we command are greater, beginning with the creation of history's most affluent nation and extending to a system of governance that is dedicated to life, liberty and justice for each and every one of us. Let not our thanksgiving be troubled.

Jack Stapleton is the editor of Missouri News and Editorial Service.