Happy Thanksgiving!
Tomorrow, once again, we here in the United States pause, as, we celebrate another day of Thanksgiving.
Needless to say, there are lots to be thankful for and we herein do not silence our pen in giving thanks to GOD. First and foremost, for His bounties and kind mercies in our affairs of life -- public or private -- we give thanks.
When we survey the global landscape and record the vast amounts of disasters, natural -- earthquakes, floods, fires, storms et cetera -- compounded by man-made ones, including war, then we have to be indeed thankful, that for the most part, we are enjoying a period of calm.
In similar vein, we give thanks for our men and women in uniform, our veterans and our leaders -- national, state, city, religious and civic. Our men and women in uniform are the vertebrae of our collective corps as a nation and a people.
We give thanks for an adopted son, a native of tropical Jamaica, Hon. Wilmot Max Ramsay for his vision some 21 years ago when given the opportunity, in addressing "our youths," to clearly put forward a plan which has now been adopted by the current Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) government which has the daunting task for the restoration of discipline within the society; and what better place for it to begin than "within our homes, schools, churches, communities and nation." This youthful vision, no doubt, is a global position paper and therefore it was appropriate for Councillor Max Ramsay's address to mainly Christian youths at the St. Paul's United Church Hall, Montego Bay, Jamaica, on Saturday, March 1, 1986 to have been with members of his age group. Ramsay was only 23 years old then. He delivered the message and true seeds of growth are expected to spring from fertile soil.
Despite the continued American albatross of racism, we give thanks that our elected leaders, and those who aspire to lead in particular, are trying to arrest that monster which forms a dividing barrier within the boundaries and fabric of the United States.
The Pilgrims arrived in Massachusetts -- the birthplace of Thanksgiving -- and therefore this tradition is as commonplace as cranberries and turkeys. In the spirit of the occasion, we too take a break to give thanks for not only what we can receive but also for what we can give and offer for the betterment of society.
As the mantra in 1985 -- the International Youth Year, IYY, put on by the United Nations, the UN -- so too we herein join with Councillor Emeritus Hon. Wilmot Max "Little David" Ramsay in saying: "Let us therefore hear our youths declare 'last year was, this year is, next year and the years to come will be ours.' Therefore, we will endeavor to make 'participation, development and peace' our aim and ultimately, reality."
To one and all -- including the University of Massachusetts -- a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
(Copyright @ HERITAGE RESERVES, Wednesday, November 21, 2007)
