THANKSGIVING LETTER TO AMERICA
"Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, / The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. / Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, / I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" – Inscription on Statue of Liberty
Story of Thanksgiving
Most of us know the story well. The Pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving in 1621. Many American Families are Descendants of the Mayflower Pilgrims such as ours.
In 1789, George Washington started the Thanksgiving Tradition in America by proclaiming:
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be-- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks--for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation…
Abraham Lincoln revived the Tradition in 1863 on the 74th anniversary of President Washington’s original Proclamation and made Thanksgiving a National Holiday:
Issued on October 3, 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed that the last Thursday of November would be a day of Thanksgiving and praise to God. He expressed gratitude for the Union Army's victory at Gettysburg. The proclamation also called for prayers for the nation's healing and restoration to peace and harmony.
Isn’t it interesting America’s two Greatest Presidents saw fit to give thanks for America’s bounty and good fortune to our Creator! Americans need to make Thanksgiving more than an annual event on a single day, but every day of our lives!
A Nation of Immigrants
Thanksgiving also reminds Americans they are a nation made predominantly of immigrants. The current controversy over immigration has fomented into a crisis because the United States has never had a concerted, coherent Immigration Policy. The closest we came was the “Pathway to Citizenship” proposed by the George W. Bush Administration. It was President Bush’s fellow Republicans who defeated it.
In testimony before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2007, U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) asked me, “Well, Mr. Secretary, what do you believe we should do about this situation.”
The situation which the Senator spoke of was the revelation that over 11 million illegal immigrants had been residing in the USA long enough to have at least one Child. Under U.S. Law, those Children are U.S. Citizens and obviously their Parents are not. It is still the case.
I answered: “Senator, I do not believe the U.S. Government should be in the business of separating Families...” I would not deviate from that statement one iota 17 years later.
The First Lady of that Administration, Laura Bush, wrote an op ed for the Washington Post in June 2019 decrying the practice, writing it broke her heart. Laura did not morph into a bleeding-heart liberal overnight. She wrote the op ed as a mother. Any mother would be horrified at the thought of being separated from her Children. That should not need to be explained, but somehow it does.
The current controversy was inspired by a childhood friend of mine, Steve Daines (R-MT). On his own initiative 14 months ago, the Senator traveled to the border and started asking many pertinent questions.
(https://www.svctrailblazerpublications.com/senator-daines-blows-whistle-on-border-debacle)
What I propose is that Senator Daines be appointed as Committee Chair of a Special Select Committee on Immigration. This Committee would set the concerted, coherent Immigration Policy the United States so obviously needs! A true bipartisan consensus should be developed regarding what should be accomplished rather than the helter-skelter “deport them all” approach now being proposed. That’s how we got into trouble in the first place.
The new Majority Leader is John Thune (R-SD) and his Governor in South Dakota, Kristi Noem (R-SD), is slated to be the next Secretary of Homeland Secretary. They should be able to figure something out.
Revival of the American Dream
Please keep in mind that in most cases these migrants are just like our ancestors. It is a backhanded compliment to the USA they want to be Americans and share in the American Dream! https://www.svctrailblazerpublications.com/trailblazer-to-revival-of-the-american-dream-1
PHIL SUTTON, DBA
SVC PRESIDENT/CEO
27 NOVEMBER 2024