Presidential Weekly Address - 27 November 2014

by Barack Obama

THE PRESIDENT: On behalf of the Obama family -- Michelle, Malia, Sasha, Bo, and Sunny -- I want to wish you a very happy Thanksgiving. Like many of you, we'll spend the day with family and friends, catching up, eating some good food and watching a little football. Before we lift a fork, we lend a hand by going out in the community to serve some of our neighbors in need. And we give thanks for each other, and for all of God's blessings.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because, more than any other, it is uniquely American. Each of us brings our own traditions and cultures and recipes to the table -- but we all share this day, united by the gratitude for the bounty of this nation. And we welcome the contributions of all people -- no matter their origin or color or beliefs -- who call America home, and who enrich the life of our nation. It is a creed as old as our founding: "E pluribus unum" -- that our of many, we are one.

We are reminded that this creed, and America itself, was never an inevitability, but the result of ordinary people in every generation doing their part to uphold our founding ideals -- by taking the blessings of freedom, and multiplying them for those who would follow. As President Kennedy once wrote, even as we give thanks for all that we've inherited from those who came before us -- "the decency of purpose, steadfastness of resolve and strength of will, for the courage and the humility, which they possessed," we must also remember that "the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them."

Today, we are grateful to all Americans who do their part to live by those ideals, including our brave men and women in uniform overseas and their families, who sacrifice so much to keep America safe. To our service members who are away from home, we say an extra prayer for you and your loved ones, and we renew our commitment to take care of you as well as you've taken care of us.

We are grateful to the countless Americans who serve their communities in soup kitchens and shelters, looking out for those who are less fortunate, and lifting up those who have fallen on hard times. This generosity, this compassion, this belief that we are each other's keepers, is essential to who we are, not just on this day, but every day.

It's easy to focus on what separates us. But as we gather with loved ones on this Thanksgiving, let's remember and be grateful for what binds us together. Our love of country. Our commitment to justice and equality. Our belief that America's best days are ahead, and that her destiny is ours to shape -- and that our inherited ideals must be the birthright of all of our children.

That's what today is all about: that out of many, we are one. Thank you, God bless you, and from my family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving.