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 Ronald Reagan: The Art of Expressing Gratitude “Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.” — Aesop “Americans have always understood that, truly, one must give in order to receive. This should be a day of giving as well as a day of thanks.” — Ronald Reagan, 1981 “Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson 1 He was a tender and thoughtful guy, raised by a mother who was a “tornado of goodness” and a father who taught his boys to be “responsible for putting good things in the world.” i And even when he was making his mark on the radio or on television, Ronald Reagan consistently valued the importance of expressing respect and gratitude to his family, to his friends, and even to hardworking Americans. Everywhere. Though our world may be in turmoil today, shall we take a moment to remember that to “those whom much is given, much is expected”? Shall we embrace gratitude and bow our heads? When did this great tradition of gratitude begin in America? And how did President Reagan embrace the concept? Officially, it Started with George “. . . to recommend . . . a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness." —George Washington, October 3, 1789 It’s true that our Thanksgiving tradition originates with the Pilgrims’ first harvest, but it became an official part of our lives long before FDR tagged the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving. First President George Washington requested a day of “Thanksgiving for the many signal favors of Almighty God.” Continuing the tradition, John Adams declared “Thanksgivings,” but Thomas Jefferson never issued any proclamations on the matter. By the end of the War of 1812, James Madison renewed the day of gratitude in response to congressional resolutions and, by 1858, proclamations appointing a day of Thanksgiving were issued by the governors of twenty-­‐five states and two territories. Enter The Great Emancipator. Inspired by the writer Sarah Josepha Hale, who petitioned five presidents to make Thanksgiving an official national holiday, Abraham Lincoln embraced her suggestion. In that letter, illustrated below, she explained how the holiday would be a unifying day after the stress of the Civil War. It’s hard to believe that prior to the addition of Thanksgiving, the only national holidays celebrated in 1863 in the United States were Washington’s Birthday and Independence Day. 2 And so the day of gratitude continued until President Franklin Roosevelt signed a bill on December 26, 1941, affirming that Thanksgiving be observed annually on the fourth Thursday of November. Pardon Me As for the White House turkey—no pun intended—the tradition began in 1947 when the National Turkey Federation presented the President with one live turkey and two dressed turkeys. John F. Kennedy was the first president reported to spare the turkey given to him (“We’ll let this one live ….”) Tragically, he was assassinated just days before Thanksgiving. Years later, President Nixon received a rather rambunctious bird. In fact, “the turkey was so flustered that, according to the tale, which is not widely recalled these days, its feet had to be nailed to the table.” 3 In a gentler manner, Ronald Reagan, in 1987, was the first to give the turkey a presidential pardon. That bird was spared and was sent to a petting zoo where an aide reported, “He’ll be fed, berries, acorns and corn. No word on champagne or in-­‐room massage.” President George H. W. Bush looked at his turkey and said, “Let me assure this fine tom he will not end up on anyone's dinner table. Not this guy. He's been granted a presidential pardon as of right now, allowing him to live out his days on a farm not far from here.”
A Governor’s Touching Radio Address The nation began to learn about the grateful Ronald Reagan before he ever took the inaugural oath. In a contemplative moment in 1978, he pondered a bit. Another bid for the presidency wasn’t far away, yet he took time to express himself in a radio address as he looked out his hotel room at the busy streets below: “I wonder, though, about the people in those cars, who they are, what they do, what they’re thinking about as they head for the warmth of home and family. Come to think of it I’ve met them—oh, maybe not those particular individuals but still I feel I know them. Some social planners refer to them as the masses which only proves they don’t know them. I’ve been privileged to meet people all over this land in the special kind of way you meet them when you’re campaigning. They are not the masses or as the elitists would have it—the common man. They’re very uncommon. Individuals each with his or her own hopes and dreams, plans and problems and the kind of quiet courage that makes this whole country run better than just about any other place on earth. By now, thinking of their homecoming I’m counting how many more hotel room windows I’ll be looking out of before I’m in the rush hour traffic heading home. And yes I’m feeling a little envious of the people in those cars down below. It seems I’ve said a thousand goodbyes, each one harder than the one before. Someone very wise once wrote that if we were all told one day that the end was coming; that we were living our last day, every road, every street and all the telephone lines would be jammed with people trying reach someone to whom we wanted simply to say, I love you. But why wait for such a final day and take the chance of not getting there in time? Speaking of time I’ll have to stop now. Hello, operator. I’d like to make a long distance call. This is Ronald Reagan. And thanks for listening.” A President Thanks A Nation In March of 1981, our fortieth president dodged an assassin’s bullet but did not survive unharmed. During his recovery, the American people reached out to him and, in turn, he reached out with touching rhetoric from the floor of the Capitol building during his first address following the shooting. Do you remember these words from April 28, 1981? To watch and listen to part of what he said , click here. 4 “I'd like to say a few words directly to all of you and to those who are watching and listening tonight, because this is the only way I know to express to all of you on behalf of Nancy and myself our appreciation for you messages and flowers and, most of all, your prayers, not only for me but for those others who fell beside me. “The warmth of your words, the expression of friendship and, yes, love, meant more to us than you can ever know. You have given us a memory that we'll treasure forever. And you've provided an answer to those few voices that were raised saying that what happened was evidence that ours is a sick society. “The society we heard from is made up of millions of compassionate Americans and their children, from college age to kindergarten. As a matter of fact, as evidence of that I have a letter with me. The letter came from Peter Sweeney. He's in the second grade in the Riverside School in Rockville Centre, and he said, ‘I hope you get well quick or you might have to make a speech in your pajamas.’ He added a postscript. ‘P.S. If you have to make a speech in your pajamas, I warned you.’” Proclamations from the Desk of Ronald Reagan “Today we have more to be thankful for than our pilgrim mothers and fathers who huddled on the edge of the New World that first Thanksgiving Day could ever dream. We should be grateful not only for our blessings, but for the courage and strength of our ancestors which enable us to enjoy the lives we do today.” —Ronald Reagan, 1982 With the portrait of George Washington inspiring his work in the Oval Office, President Reagan made certain that proclamations honoring, celebrating, and reinvigorating the importance of gratitude were filed every year. 5 “We Americans have so much for which to be thankful. Think of the great expanse of our nation, the rolling hills of our immense farmland. Even in years of drought, as this year has been, the plows and the sweat of America's farmers call forth from our good Earth more food than we can possibly eat—so much food that, taken together, our harvests of wheat, corn, soybeans, fruits, vegetables, and all the other bounty of our land make up one of our most important exports. Not only we but the entire world can be thankful for that. Millions of children across all the continents are happier, healthier, and stronger because of America's farmers.” —Ronald Reagan, 1988 And finally, just days before he left Washington, D.C., for his beloved California, he expressed his gratitude for peace after the ratification of the INF Treaty with the Soviet Union: “Yes, peace is another thing for which we can say a prayer of gratitude over the dinner table on Thursday, peace and abundance in this land that God has kissed. We will give thanks for these and one thing more: our freedom. Yes, in America, freedom seems like the air around us: It's there; it's sweet, though we rarely give it a thought. Yet as the air fills our lungs, freedom fills our souls. It gives breath to our laughter and joy. It gives voice to our songs. It gives us strength as we race for our dreams.” —Ronald Reagan, 1988 “. . . think of how blessed we are to be Americans. Yes, as we gather together this Thanksgiving to ask the Lord's blessings, as we of whatever faith we are give praises to His name, let us thank Him for our peace, prosperity, and freedom.” —Ronald Reagan, 1988 The Last Days Those who cared for President Reagan during his last days commented on his grateful nature. In Peter Robinson’s book How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life, Robinson included a touching story, told by the 6 President’s son, Ron. “There’s a particular Secret Service agent, an African-­‐American man,” Ron Reagan said. “This guy is a big burly guy who looked like he played football. When my father was still able to get up and on his feet and sort of be walked to the living room and put in a chair, this guy would be on one side of him and another agent on the other. My father would often not want to let go of his hand.” Once when the agent had helped him to his chair, the former president seemed to want to express his thanks. “He couldn’t verbalize anything at that point,” Ron said. “But he looked at the agent. Then he took his hand and kissed it.” The Last Chapter When President Reagan said good-­‐bye to the American people, he told us that it was the honor of his life to be our President. Well, Mr. President, the honor and privilege were ours. “. . . it's good to reflect that here in America, perhaps more than in any other nation on Earth, we have a tradition of giving—of neighbor helping neighbor—that makes life better for tens of thousands every day. And for this, too, on Thanksgiving Day, let us give thanks.” —Ronald Reagan, 1986 i
Peggy Noonan, When Character Was King, p. 17 7