A Creed for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a time when families thrive, and our human movement can learn key lessons from this uniquely American tradition as we move forward together.

Let’s begin with what’s best about the day: a shared table, familiar laughter, and the quiet grace of gratitude. Gratitude is not the fruit of harmony; it is the seed. Traditions renew; children grow up knowing the laugh of a cousin; and an uncle regales with stories of where the family came from. The mystic chords of memory, those invisible threads that bind generations, grow stronger and endure.

Thanksgiving is meant to be practiced. The meaningful work of breaking bread with people who vote differently, pray differently, and have different points of view preserves more than a holiday tradition. Amongst people you don’t always like but with whom you share a deep bond is where public deliberation starts — a practice foundational to American self-government. We keep the muscle memory of belonging to something larger than ourselves.

What’s true for our families is, of course, also true for our humanist movement and the nations we all endeavor to help.

Ronald Reagan is often remembered for saying, “All great change in America begins at the dinner table.” What is frequently left out, however, is the line that follows: “So, tomorrow night in the kitchen, I hope the talking begins. And children, if your parents haven’t been teaching you what it means to be an American, let ’em know and nail ’em on it. That would be a very American thing to do.”

That’s a lesson which can be applied to every country across the world. And one doesn’t have to wait for Thanksgiving to make it happen.

Let the talking begin this week — and let our conversations be an invitation to those we love to once again find unity in our purpose, first as families and then as a nation. There’s no need to delay starting this family conversation, centered around four questions plain enough to ask around the dinner table and significant enough to guide a movement and save a world:

• What does it mean to be a flourishing national and international family?

  
  

• What does it mean to honor the dignity of work and secure the future of free enterprise?

  
  

• What does it mean to have true national security?

  
  

• What does it mean to be a citizen?

There’s nothing wrong with the belief that united, good-faith conservatives and progressives will engage in this discussion. We are also certain we know what a restored world order looks like:

• Marriage and family celebrated, not ignored or mocked.

  
  

• Work dignified, wages rising, and two incomes a family choice, not a necessity.

  
  

• Borders secure, military strong, enemies deterred.

  
  

• Children learning truth — not ideology — in educational institutions that parents control.

  
  

• Faith respected, civic virtue restored, patriotism the norm.

  
  

• Government limited, debt shrinking, freedom expanding.

Let’s call this Humanity 2.0, a battle plan to restore sanity to a world and global society seemingly without direction.

We sweat not for the elites, but for everyday citizens. We toil not to be keyboard warriors but to chart a course of national renewal. The future of belief — a fusion of old and new ideas — will succeed when power is properly returned to the people. And it all starts with America, the only nation on earth right now that can, through its media, culture and global reach, carry its message to every corner of the globe.

Billions dress like Americans, watch American programs, use American products from Google to Apple. There’s a reason Asian youth dye their hair, wear reverse baseball caps and Converse sneakers. But it goes beyond that.

For this moment, in this time, America is still the hyperpower. Others are on the rise, but equality and perhaps even supremacy is not in the cards.

Americans should not preach or pose but engage with the world to help shape the discourse, to debate, exchange ideas. America can take care of its own first without pulling up the drawbridge into self-imposed xenophobia.

Today’s populism didn’t emerge in a vacuum. It arose from failed leadership, calcified institutions, and elites who prioritized bureaucracy over every day citizens. The people aren’t seeking minor fixes; they’re challenging the very credibility of the system, and often, they’re spot on. This ought to inspire everyone.

The clearest path to returning power to the people is through a wholehearted rejuvenation of federalism. We will never lose sight of the many millions who feel the weight of the world on their shoulders. We must become engaged in the work required to ensure a free, self-governing people can raise families and engage in community and commerce with peace, principles, and prosperity.

Of course, the people will decide our future. We are clear-eyed that our effort comes at a time of cultural and civic strain. But we’ve been here before. We need to be a broad global social movement of diverse but reinforcing beliefs, gathering travelers on the same journey — pilgrims who argue over the topography of their promised land but move in the same direction.

So, let us pull up chairs at the family table. Let us channel that turbulent passion and refine it with cool reason through public deliberation. Let us all be builders of a better world. Just as we will nurture the family tree through open dialogue, let us build the future years under a thriving canopy of vibrant, interconnected branches rooted in self-governance.

Our shared history is our future.