Thanksgiving quotes from classic leaders

Published in Winston-Salem Journal, November 28, 2013.

Here are some of our favorite Thanksgiving passages to ponder on this special day.

“It becomes us to set apart a day for gratefully acknowledging the divine goodness and celebrating the important event which we owe to His benign Interposition.”

-- George Washington

“It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.'”

-- Abraham Lincoln

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.

“Let us therefore proclaim our gratitude to Providence for manifold blessings - let us humbly be thankful for inherited ideals -- and let us resolve to share those blessings with our fellow human beings throughout the world.”

-- John F. Kennedy

“Let us recommit ourselves to that devotion to God and family that has played such an important role in making this a great nation and which will be needed as a source of strength if we are to remain a great people.”

-- Ronald Reagan

“I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country; he is a bird of bad moral character; like those among men who live by sharping and robbing, he is generally poor and often very lousy.

“The turkey is a much more reputable bird, and withal a true original native of America.”

-- Benjamin Franklin