Excerpts from remarks by the Honorable Brooks Hays, Assistant Secretary of State, at the "Festival of Thanksgiving" - Page 1

Abstract

Speech reflecting on the Thanksgiving holiday to audience in Lisner Auditorium ; EXCERPTS FROM REMARKS BY THE HONORABLE BROOKS HAYS, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE, AT THE "FESTIVAL OF THANKSGIVING" LISNER AUDITORIUM, WASHINGTON, D.C., NOVEMBER 22, 1961 Thanksgiving Day belongs to all faiths. Its religious motivation was so deep and its basic lesson was of such wide application that in due course it came to belong to all and is cherished by all. It presents an opportunity to voice our common faith. Unlike the two other great religious days, Easter and Christmas, it belongs exclusively to our own history. "Let us give thanks" - this is the summons we hear and we heed it. Without attempting to provide an inventory of national blessings I would like to suggest five blessings to contemplate. First our spiritual origin. The colonists who instituted Thanksgiving had a religious purpose which flowered in our national institutions. Their belief in freedom and justice had Biblical roots and it has persisted. There was an emphasis on individualism but our religious pluralism is also an element of strength in national life. The moral foundation for our political system was laid by sturdy forbears. Their belief in God and in human dignity is reflected in the early documents which constitute the basis of our political system. The principle of majority rule for example was firmly advanced in the Mayflower Compact. Hence Donald Peattie could say "Our eager soul was born before the body politic." A second