What would Kennedy think? And Happy Thanksgiving!

On this, the 43rd anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, it is interesting to reflect not only on his life and times, but the things he tried to accomplish during his presidency. Among his many undertakings were championing equal rights and new civil rights legislation and laying out plans for a massive assault on persisting pockets of privation and poverty. If Kennedy was alive today, I wonder what this visionary would say about the vote taken two weeks ago in seven states denying an entire segment of society equal rights under the law; I wonder how he would feel about the war we’re currently engaged in and, more importantly, the way in which we became engaged in it; and I wonder what Kennedy would think about the manner in which so many in our society today are forced to live because of serious economic woes. In many respects, despite all the progress we’ve made as a nation, it seems like in so many of the areas that should matter the most, we have remained stagnant or even digressed.

And yet, as we get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow, we have much to be thankful for, both individually and as a country: Among those, living in a society where we can express ourselves without fear of imprisonment or death; and where we have the right to stand up to our government leaders when we think they’re doing it wrong.

I hope each person will take a few moments tomorrow to reflect on his or her own individual life and say a few words of thanks for everything they have in their life. Things in life are never perfect and sometimes they can seem just downright depressing and unfair. But there’s always a situation and someone much worse off than us. So, be thankful for what you do have; say a prayer to fix that which is wrong; and don’t sweat the small stuff. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!