We Americans should really be thankful for the great human beings, who make up our heritage, the people who built this great country we call home.
102 immigrants walked onto the Mayflower, a little ship of 113 feet and crossed the massive Atlantic Ocean. The Pilgrims sailed into Massachusetts on Nov. 11, 1620.
Seeing nothing but an impenetrable forest, wild animals and strange looking people. The Pilgrims were short of food after 66 days on the Mayflower.
Before they landed they made a pact…
There wasn’t a rich man among them, not a scholar; they were plain, simple, everyday people, but great nonetheless.
The Pilgrims wrote out an agreement known as the Mayflower Compact, distilling in eight sentences the political and philosophical thinking of 400 years.
They agreed that they would elect men to rule over them and would respect their rule, thus the beginning of our American democracy— government of the people, by the people and for the people.
Foreshadowed in that little document were the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.
They were rather smart people, the Pilgrims. They had a stern philosophy of life and morality. You can not build a great nation on soft people.
There are many pessimists today who contend that the United States is going to pieces, but I don’t believe it because the same sturdy breed is still among us.
As long as we still have people in the United States of America who don’t take themselves too seriously; who don’t go around with a sour look on their faces; who still love this land—the good earth, the sky, our farm land, the towering mountains, the rolling prairies and the wonderful shining cities—we’ll survive the current political problems.
Positive things will come because Americans are dreamers, daredevils, adventurers. You and I are descendants of the men and women who built this great nation.
So everyday, especially today, let us count our blessings and keep the faith, for America is a land that was made by strong faithful people.
