Another Day of Thanks for Democrats and Republicans

As is the custom on this Thanksgiving Day, most Americans throughout the country take s short respite from the trials and challenges in their life to reflect upon the abundance that they actually have. While we are often more aware of and focused upon the difficulties we face and the things that we perceive that we lack or need, Americans can generally acknowledge that we still have more than the vast majority of the world if not actually than everyone else.

And while yes, it is true that Americans still have a host of ills and troubles that plague our nation; we also have a vital and vibrant social structure that enables us to strive for a future that is better than the best that we have accomplished since the founding of our country. So it is in this spirit that I am also aware of and thankful for the privileges and promises that America grants its citizens. I am particularly thankful for the freedom which we offer to each other in our acceptance of a society founded upon the rights possessed by all men to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is in that pledge we make, either explicitly or implicitly, as members of our democratic system to protect and defend our country and form of government that I believe is our best hope of success in assuring future generations of Americans their freedom.

One of the amazing aspects of American democracy is that it manages to thrive and persist despite the political parties that are consistently working to achieve only their vision of a free society. Now this partisan perspective has been, and in some cases probably still manages to be, instrumental in keeping the principles of freedom a basic element in our society; I think we are in urgent need for a “little revolution now and then is a good thing” as Jefferson said. The revolution that I think is necessary, and that I expect to eventually occur, is within the Democratic and Republican parties. This revolution would be one extending the principles of American back to the members of Congress. It’s not that I think that the Senators and Congressmen are deprived of the freedoms that the rest of the public enjoys; it’s that our representatives are increasingly being constrained by and bound to a smaller and smaller view of what is ‘acceptable’ doctrine within these parties.

Whether you are a Republican or Democrat, there seems to be an intolerance within the ‘core’ party faithful to any opinion or position that in any way deviates from their own. Now there is nothing un-American about people choosing to take as hard and rigid a stance on their political beliefs as they want. But the consequences of such rigidity is that it undermines the very dynamism of the American system. We thrive on differences of opinion, on the diversity of mind that brings new and better ways to address the needs of the day. We also depend upon the ability to recognize the error of our ways and to stand up and redress them. To realize the America dream that we were bequeathed, requires a liberty of mind and thought, a freedom of opinion and view, and an ability to compromise in order for us to achieve the happiness we seek in a free society.

Therefore the Democrats and Republican parties will either find their ways to prevent them from fracturing and destroying their selves internally; or a little revolution will have to occur. This would not be the first time that a party has been transformed or replaced because it lost it way. And there is much to be gained by the evolution of either party to something healthier and more dynamic then the dysfunctional collection of power-brokers and autocrats who strive only to retain position and privilege for themselves at any cost.

Let’s be thankful that we still have the privilege of the vote. And if we can accept the responsibility to use it wisely to protect ourselves and each other, then perhaps we can preserve the greatness of America. Let us all be thankful that we still have time to remember the promise. We can be thankful that we do not have to restrict the rights and freedoms of our fellow countrymen, in order protect our own. With just a little of the spirit of the American Revolution, we can make sure that on Government can deprive its citizens of their God given rights. We can be thankful for the blessings that we have received from every American who has stood up and defended the rights of everyone else.