One of the fine things about holidays is that there is a license to meander a bit with less of an eye on the clock – which explains how I could find myself today reading JFK’s Presidential Proclamation 3560 issued in November 1963, shortly before his assassination.
“Yet, as our power has grown, so has our peril. Today we give our thanks, most of all, for the ideals of honor and faith we inherit from our forefathers–for the decency of purpose, steadfastness of resolve and strength of will, for the courage and the humility, which they possessed and which we must seek every day to emulate. As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.
Let us therefore proclaim our gratitude to Providence for manifold blessings–let us be humbly thankful for inherited ideals–and let us resolve to share those blessings and those ideals with our fellow human beings throughout the world.”
These are fine words indeed, but as stated, the challenge is not simply to “utter words” but to “live by them.” As JFK noted in the Proclamation, we are called to share our blessings and ideals. Note the choice of “share” instead of “covet” or “flout” or “impose” or other such words that might replace “share.”
In declaring November 28, 1963 a national day of thanksgiving, JFK challenged us all:
“On that day let us gather in sanctuaries dedicated to worship and in homes blessed by family affection to express our gratitude for the glorious gifts of God; and let us earnestly and humbly pray that He will continue to guide and sustain us in the great unfinished tasks of achieving peace, justice, and understanding among all men and nations and of ending misery and suffering wherever they exist.”
It occurs to me that more than 50 years later, that prayer should remain on our lips, and that those are not only words to utter, but to live by.
It occurs to me... 