Every Thanksgiving since 1961, The Wall Street Journal has published two classic editorials by Vermont Royster, who was with the WSJ for over 60 years.

The first is "The Desolate Wildnerness" and the second is "And the Fair Land."

Sorry if the links don't work for you...if they don't work, you could either buy a WSJ (well worth a buck today) or subscribe.

I am impressed every year with the continuing relevance and truth of these words from 45 years ago.

Three examples are particularly striking (in the first two, "they" refers to US citizens):

"Yet they find no escape, for their survival and comfort now depend on unpredictable strangers in far-off corners of the globe."

and

"Or when, in the face of these challenges, they turn for leadership to men in high places--only to find those men as frail as any others."

and finally, the timeless conclusion:

"And we might remind ourselves also, that if those men setting out from Delftshaven had been daunted by the troubles they saw around them, then we could not this Autumn be thankful for a fair land."