Our nation, Valley give usmuch to be thankful for

This editorial appears in the Yakima Herald-Republic on Nov. 27, 2008

While there are always those who can look to the dark side of life and question any reason to be thankful on any day, we choose to look at the special things that give this day special meaning.

The state and national economies are in turmoil, but it's not something we don't know how to deal with. This nation pulled itself out of the Great Depression and recessions since, and sweeping efforts are now under way to right the economic ship of state once again. We will prevail and for the fact that we can we are thankful.

We can take collective pride in the fact that our country's form of government was put on full display during a presidential election of historic significance. Democrat Barack Obama shattered racial barriers to be elected the first black president in our history, reaffirming the American Dream. It was a spirited campaign pitting him against a tough competitor in Republican John McCain, giving voters clear-cut choices.

For all of its faults, our system of elected representative government worked once again. Even in these trying times, we have it so much better than other nations, with a quality of life to be envied. For that we are thankful.

We are constantly reminded that warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan continue. Washington state has sent many of its sons and daughters to active duty. Our prayers are with those who are still in the world's trouble spots, and all who will miss Thanksgiving at home with loved ones.

If we could ask for one more thing for which we can all be thankful, it is that they all come home soon -- safe and sound.

Closer to home, the rich agricultural diversity of the area once again was spotlighted in a series of harvests, from asparagus in the spring to apples and grapes in the fall. We give thanks for our farmers and growers, and the workers who harvest the crops.

Let the snow fly in the mountains. It brings the promise of brimming mountain reservoirs in the spring, ensuring next year's water supplies, which are the lifeblood of the Yakima River Basin.

We're thankful that the community reaches out to help those in need through ill health, that teachers and coaches work with kids, that artists still create works of beauty and that families still gather.

We are reminded again on this day that there have been worse years in which to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Consider 1621, the year of the first Thanksgiving in America. The Pilgrims had lost half their tiny band of 100 to disease during the terrible winter before. Although the survivors reaped a good harvest, their colony on a raw, inhospitable continent was by no means established or secure.

Or how about 1863, the year of Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation, from which we date our modern observance? The nation was in the midst of the most terrible war in its history. Yet the people gave thanks -- not merely for survival, but for the promise of peace and the opportunity, as Lincoln was later to phrase it, "to bind up the nation's wounds" and join North and South for an even stronger union.

The world will never be perfect. Yet who among us cannot find some reason to be thankful on this day?

From all of us at the Yakima Herald-Republic, happy Thanksgiving! You have our gratitude for allowing us to be a daily part of your life.

* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Sarah Jenkins, Bill Lee and Karen Troianello.

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