By Frank F Islam & Ed Crego, November 20, 2025 (Image credits: Tom de Boor, JNCGPT51)

On this Thanksgiving Day, the concept of a united and unified America seems an alien one. In fact, it is almost impossible to contemplate.

That is a line from our 2016 Thanksgiving Thoughts on Our Divided Nation blog.

In our 2020 Thanksgiving Thoughts on our Divided Nation blog, we stated:

How many times greater is that divide in 2020? It is unquantifiable. It is fair to say though that the divide is a chasm and the width and depth of that chasm is immeasurable.

Sadly, in 2025, because of the increasingly polarized conditions in our country, it is even more “impossible to contemplate” a united and unified America, and the chasm, in our divided nation, has become more “immeasurable”.

That said, is there anything to be thankful for this year? There absolutely is.

It begins with being thankful for the end of the government shutdown, and the senators who crossed the aisle to make this happen, by putting the people first and not politics. Being thankful for the 42 million people who this Thanksgiving will have food on the table because of reinstatement of SNAP benefits. Being thankful for the 2 million or so federal employees who will be paid for their service and be able to pay their bills. Being thankful for the millions of airplane travelers who will be able to travel distances in confidence to share their Thanksgiving meals with friends and family. Being thankful for the fact that, while the shutdown has ended, the fight to ensure affordability of health insurance, housing, and goods and services has not.

It goes from those thoughts in the present to being thankful by remembering what America is, and who we are as Americans. We have remembered that in prior Thanksgiving blogs celebrating the fact that:

• America is a democratic republic committed to promoting the four freedoms: freedom of speech and expression; freedom for every person to worship God in her or his own way; freedom from want; and freedom from fear.
• America is an immigrant nation. Through the decades and centuries, immigrants of all races, religions, and economic backgrounds from around and across the globe have made invaluable contributions to making the United States the great country it is today.
• America has continued to make progress, in spite of the polarized and divided nature of the United States, due to the work of citizens from all walks of life and dedicated public servants.

We remain thankful for those defining characteristics. This Thanksgiving it would be disingenuous, however, if we did not admit those characteristics are at risk.

Under the current administration:

• The four freedoms are beginning to disappear: freedom of speech is limited for some but not for others; religious prayer in the classroom is being promoted; assistance to those in need of food is being withdrawn; and, fear of violence is increasing across the board.
• America is being converted from an immigrant nation to a deportation nation. ICE is not something used to cool things down, but rather to heat things up by removing immigrants from their homes and neighborhoods.
• America continues to move forward, but the One Big Beautiful Bill and the nationwide tariffs have put a limp in its step and, if not modified, could be crippling.
• The government shutdown was the longest in history, bringing harm and wreaking havoc on citizens across the nation, due to the unwillingness of the President and the party in power to work out a compromise.
• The White House (aka the People’s House), with the paving of the Rose Garden, and the destruction of the East Wing to create a massive ballroom, is being converted to Mar-a-Lago North.

We are not thankful for this destabilization which has widened the divides between the American citizenry. We are thankful that the “no kings” protests, and the results of the off -year elections, showed that concerned citizens are willing to stand up, to speak out, and to vote to begin to narrow those divides. We are thankful those concerned citizens and others, regardless of political preference, will work together to restore the four freedoms to their proper position, rediscover this immigrant nation, and renew the American dream.

As in the past, we are also thankful for the chance to work with those concerned citizens to close the divides: between the working class and the wealthy; between rural and urban America; between the inner cities and the suburbs; between people of different religious beliefs; between people of different ethnic backgrounds; between whites and people of color; between gay and straight; between the generations; between business and government; between conservatives and progressives; between the insiders and the outsiders; between fear and hope; between moving the country backward and moving the country forward; between perception and reality.

Addressing those divides will be hard work, but it is necessary to ensure that we do not give up the ship — our ship of state that is. That ship of state is our liberal democracy.

We are thankful that this year Peter Wehner, a writer and former speechwriter for three Republican presidents, advised us that saving that liberal democracy requires not only hard work, but awe as well.

Wehner makes this point compellingly in his September article for The Atlantic titled “Awe is Essential.” Wehner begins that article by discussing and quoting from William Galston’s new book: Anger, Fear, Domination.

He notes that in his book, Galston writes:

The only counterweight to bad speech is better speech that challenges the darkness within us in the name of our higher aspirations, The future of liberal democracy rests on the bet that these aspirations have not vanished from our souls.

Wehner concurs with Galston’s perspective and states that a fundamental ingredient for nurturing those aspirations is “awe.” He explains:

Awe provides us with a greater sense of purpose and meaning. It encourages an appreciation for beauty and creativity. It can improve our mood and sense of well-being, make us more curious and less self-preoccupied. It can quiet negative self-talk. Awe may also increase our sense of satisfaction and weaken the grip of materialism.

And adds that:

… Unlike the dark passions, awe is a pro-social emotion. It can encourage attitudes of generosity and altruism; of selflessness, empathy, and compassion. The sense that we are part of something vast and meaningful can create bonds of connection.

We share Wehner’s view on the importance of awe. In fact, we are awestruck this Thanksgiving.

We are in awe and thankful to be here in America because of simple things such as: the country’s beauty from sea to shining sea, the trees and plants in the front yard; the butterflies flying and squirrels running free; the youth in classrooms and on playing fields; the diversity of people on the streets and in workplaces.

We are also in awe, and thankful, because of America’s forward movement over its nearly 250 years in existence, due to things such as: the initiatives to make the nation a fairer and better place; the achievements of women and people of color; the progress toward equality and a more perfect union; the vaccines and health care workers that have saved millions of lives; a higher education system that is unrivalled; the entrepreneurs and workers who have built the strongest economic system in the world; and citizens who have come together in times of crises to help each other, here and abroad.

The list could go on. We are in awe of many more things, both from America’s past and from its present. As importantly, we recognize that because of the current governmental and cultural encroachments designed to reverse-engineer America, we will need that sense of awe as fuel to build America’s future. We will also need a sound and accurate American memory.

As we wrote in our book, Working the Pivot Points: To Make America Work Again;

George Santayana famously said, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” An understanding of the contexts and backstories at pivot points facilitates the development of knowledge and insights for forward progress. A partial or inaccurate recollection retards momentum and leads to inertia — inter-cranial and otherwise. Based upon this, we offer the following adaptation to Santayana’s saying: “Those who remember, or want to go back to, a past the way that it wasn’t, are condemned to no future.” Back to the Future made good movie theater but it cannot be the basis for a successful country.

We close with the following thoughts from our earlier Thanksgiving Divided Nation blogs, which remain as relevant this year as they were in 2016 and 2020:

On this Thanksgiving Day, we will bow our heads and give love and thanks to all those service men and women who have fought to keep and bring this divided nation together during the trying times since it was created. We will also say a prayer for those men and women who will commit themselves to working collaboratively with others of good will to build bridges to close the divides of these trying times.

Finally, we will give thanks for America, the house we live in. In doing so, we will recognize that it is not perfect. It still has that old glass ceiling and could benefit from some new additions, and a little 21st-century remodeling and upgrades. But, it is still a very fine house — one worth fighting for.

On this Thanksgiving, may God bless your home, the house in which we Americans live, and the world in which we reside

Have an awesome Thanksgiving creating new American memories!

Happy Thanksgiving!