Thursday, Nov. 28, 2019 | 2 a.m.
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As the Las Vegas Sun staff drafted an editorial for Thanksgiving Day 1954, there was far more on its collective mind than turkey and stuffing.
That year, the nation was suffering the toxic effects of McCarthyism, the persecution of innocent U.S. citizens by Wisconsin Sen. Joseph McCarthy in the name of rooting out communism. The lives and careers of untold numbers of Americans were smashed by McCarthy’s false and reckless accusations, while paranoia and suspicion spread throughout the nation amid the senator’s manufactured Red Scare.
Against that backdrop, the Sun produced an editorial suggesting that Thanksgiving offered hope and encouragement to those who understood the threat McCarthyism represented to our democracy and our society. Only days after the editorial was published, the Senate voted to censure McCarthy for misconduct, effectively ending the senator’s destructive campaign.
Sixty-five years later, with America once again enduring a leader who is dividing us and vilifying our neighbors, we offer an excerpt from that editorial and others through the years from the Sun. Our goal is the same as the staff’s was in 1954: To show that American values have persevered through times of difficulty and have provided the strength for us to overcome enormous challenges.
Sixty-five years ago: 1954
Thanksgiving Day is a time to pause and reflect — to count our blessings. It should also be a day for some among us to take personal inventory of the human qualities we possess.
There has been a tendency among many amid the prosperity we enjoy, to succumb to the evil of greed. ...
Most men profess to adhere to religious beliefs. Every religion teaches the human qualities of the Golden Rule, but one has reason to doubt the sincerity of some who proclaim it the loudest. …
In this day of strange evaluations, the rare spirit of help to the unfortunate has even been branded as communism by some of our loud-mouthed demagogues.
It is time for an examination of conscience as we pause to observe this Thanksgiving Day. Those among us who can search our souls and find the right answers to the test of human kindness and consideration are the richest on this day.
Those who fail in the test will probably keep right on doing as they are doing, and hope they can buy the peace of mind that comes without cost to the true friend of humanity.
These words will probably not convert any of the greedy among us to the right path. But we hope they will give courage to the fine human beings in our midst, not to give up the fight.
Forty years ago: 1979
There is one day that is ours. Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American. …
It is the least commercial and self-seeking holiday we have. For these reasons it should be a time to stand back, check our list of reasons to be thankful and realize that one day is really not enough time to count all our blessings.
Compared with the hardships, the risks and uncertainties the original Pilgrims faced, our problems are not so great. Our accomplishments in medicine, science, agriculture and business are second to none. Our license to complain and criticize is unrestrained. …
Thanksgiving no longer means a bountiful harvest or surviving nature’s storms, nor really should it be just a one-day affair. A new day, bright with hope and promise, is here for everyone. Optimism is a great commodity that seems to be in short demand these days, but for those without it, a quick look at all there is to be thankful for each day should make this Thanksgiving Day very special and very necessary.
The beauty of giving thanks is an American tradition. Let us preserve that always.
Thirty years ago: 1989
In 1623, the date was July 30. In 1631, the Pilgrims were in a bad way again and set Feb. 22 as a day of fasting and prayer. Luckily, a ship arrived with provisions and Feb. 22 became Thanksgiving Day.
In 1633, the Massachusetts Bay Colony held two Thanksgiving days — June 19 and Oct. 16. From then on until the Revolutionary War, when Congress interested itself, the dates varied from June to October and November. Congress was just as undecided as the Pilgrims and the various colonies, which had celebrated Thanksgiving whenever their governors felt the urge. …
(George) Washington issued another Thanksgiving proclamation, this time on his own, in 1795. He picked Thursday, Feb. 19. After Washington left office, Thanksgiving was an off-and-on affair. Some presidents and governors issued proclamations. Some did not. By 1830, however, the custom was pretty general.
It is Sarah Josepha Hale, a Boston widow, who worked at getting a set observance of Thanksgiving Day. Mrs. Hale was one of America’s first women journalists. For 20 years she fought for a recognized day. She pestered President Abraham Lincoln until, in 1864, he declared that thereafter by annual presidential proclamation, the last Thursday in November be observed as a national Thanksgiving day. However, in 1941, President (Franklin D.) Roosevelt and Congress changed the term “last Thursday in November” to “fourth Thursday in November. ...
Seeing that each of us — and as a nation, a state, and a community — possess so many benefits for which to give thanks, may the attitude of gratitude be manifested not only on one statutory Thanksgiving Day, but on every day of the year.
Twenty five years ago: 1994
(From a column by Sun executive editor Mike O’Callahan)
When sitting down to eat our turkey and all of the other delicious goods and goodies, we should be thankful. As Americans, we should take time to also think about the large number of disabled, elderly and children who aren’t partaking of the abundance so many take for granted. There’s still 24 hours remaining for all of us to seek out those who need food and a warm place to sleep.
The charitable institutions that deal directly with the poor and homeless in our area are numerous. …
Maybe you know some elderly or ill person or large family that needs a helping hand. There’s really no justification for any American to be hungry or cold when so many of us have the opportunity to live the good life.
Ten years ago: 2009
Thanksgiving season is an opportune time to take a moment and reflect on the hunger that persists in this country. Two new reports provide insight into the depth of the problem.
The Meals on Wheels Association of America, in a study funded by Harrah’s, estimates that 6 million seniors are experiencing difficulty in getting enough food. The other report is on a national survey of schoolteachers taken by Share Our Strength, a national organization working to end childhood hunger. Sixty-two percent of the teachers surveyed said they see hungry children coming to school every week. … That the trend is worsening was evident last week at a hearing on food banks by the House Ways and Means Committee. ..
Candy Hill, representing Chatholic Charities USA, spoke the truth when she told the committee that “it will not only take government being our partner, but it will also take all of us — corporations, philanthropies and individual donors — to solve the extreme problem of hunger in our country today.”
