From the first Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims to the present, Thanksgiving has been to
give thanks to God for providing us with the necessities of life. I admit to being a
pessimist of late about many things in the United States. However, I think we should all
drop to our knees and give thanks to God for our living in the United States. Never has a
country provided for the basic needs of life better than the United States of America.
This is especially true in the era in which we live.
If anyone turns on the TV or radio over the holiday, we will be flooded with a guilt
trip that we should be ashamed of ourselves because of the "millions" of poor
people in the United States. The Census Bureau labeled 36.5 million Americans as poor in
1997. Of course, there are people in true need; but, most of the so-called
"poor" in the United States would be considered wealthy in the rest of the
world. Most of the rest of the world would think they had died and gone to heaven to have
the living standards of America’s "poor."
In a recent study by the Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation, we see that only a
small handful of the so-called millions of poor people are destitute (without sufficient
food, housing or clothing, as most would define being poor). The information I am going to
share with you comes from Rector’s study.
Eighty-four percent (84%) of people who are labeled "poor" say they have
plenty to eat and never go hungry. Thirteen percent (13%) say they sometimes don’t
have enough to eat. Only 3% say they often don’t have enough to eat. Poor children
receive as much to eat -- with almost identical amounts of protein, vitamins and minerals
-- as the middle class. In fact, the main health problem facing the poor may be obesity. A
larger percentage of the "poor" are overweight than the middle class. Half of
poor woman are overweight.
Compared to the rest of the world, America’s "poor" live in spacious
palaces. Forty-one percent (41%) own their own home. These are usually older homes, but
most of them are in good shape. The average size of a "poor" American’s
home has 440 square feet per person, which is bigger than the homes of average income
people in London, Paris, Athens, Warsaw, Cairo and Bejing. The average home of the
American "poor" has 3 bedrooms, one-and-a-half baths, a garage and a patio.
According to the Census Bureau’s definition of "poor," over 3/4 of a
million "poor" people own homes worth over $150,000. Two hundred thousand
"poor" people have homes worth over $300.000.
When you look at these statistics, it is clear that America’s "poor"
have their basic needs met better than anywhere else in the world today and throughout
history. When you look even more closely, many of the luxuries provided by technology
(non-existent just a few years ago) are affordable to the "poor." Ninety-seven
percent (97%) of "poor" households have color televisions. Three-fourths (3/4)
of the "poor" have VCR’s. Seventy percent (70%) own a car. Twenty percent
(20%) have 2 VCR’s. Sixty-four percent (64%) have microwave ovens. Sixty-six percent
(66%) have air conditioning in their homes, and 13.1% have computers. The list is endless
of things that make life easier and are not necessary that the "poor" of America
own. These items are not available to the majority of the world.
Yes, we have problems in this country, but our abundance of material blessing exceeds
all the rest of the world. Our "poor" live like kings by worldwide standards.
Basic needs of life are provided on a level unknown since Adam and Eve were booted out of
the Garden of Eden. This is more than an accident. Our adherence to personal
responsibility and unlimited potential unleashed by political freedom, economic freedom
and a strong faith in God are the reasons we have such a great nation where even the poor
are rich enough to be thankful.
On this Thanksgiving, I think we need to proudly proclaim we are the greatest nation in
the history of the world and, with humbleness, give thanks to God for the blessing he has
bestowed on us. We still have many problems; but if we remain true to our beliefs and
directly face the problems, we will be able to overcome them. Let’s follow the
optimism that the greatest cheerleader for America, Ronald Reagan, expressed in his final
address to the nation at the 1992 Republican National Convention:
My fellow citizens, I want you to know that I have always had the
highest respect for you, for your common sense and intelligence and for your decency. I
have always believed in you and in what you could accomplish for yourselves and for
others...May each one of you have the heart to conceive, the understanding to direct, and
the hand to execute works that will make the world a little better for your having been
here. May all of you as Americans never forget your heroic origins, never fail to seek
divine guidance, and never lose your natural, God-given optimism.
