In looking back on this year, I find that there’s a great deal to be thankful for.
I’m thankful for the journey of finding out where I truly belong in terms of my job and of serving a greater good. I’m thankful for those who have been a part of my life journey, sharing and just as importantly listening to where I have been and where the adventure has taken me. I’m thankful for my faith and my faith community: The serving and being a part of its life have brought so much.
One of the things that has been such a strong, inspiring and hopeful part of my thankfulness is seeing all of the people who have been a voice for those affected by Operation Midway Blitz. The people on the front lines who have recorded what has occurred. The people who have distributed and blown whistles to provide a warning to those in need. And the people who have protested in front of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, often at risk to their own safety.
They are an example of what each of us can do. I’m thankful for the “No Kings” rally, which was strongly run, in Evanston in October. The White House commented that we hate America. We love America — for what it can be. I am proud to be among those who have taken a stand for our people and community.
Thank you to the Tribune for showing who we are and still can be. The history that we are forming will be a very strong part of this year.
— Mandy May, Skokie
I’m not a target
This is my first time telling the Tribune what I’m thankful for. I’m thankful my general appearance hasn’t attracted the attention of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who are detaining people in our area. I’m especially thankful the Border Patrol seems to have moved on.
I’m thankful that I have decent health insurance and don’t have to depend on a capricious and uncaring government that could strip Affordable Care Act benefits without warning. I’m thankful I earn enough not to depend on food assistance that so many are at risk of losing.
I’m thankful not to be a reporter who must stand and be insulted by a liar and convicted felon. I’m thankful the Tribune occasionally reminds people that the climate is being destroyed by us humans. I’m thankful that the midterms are less than a year away and that it’s still possible to wrest back control from this insanity.
— Len Woelfel, Oswego
His term will end
As an American citizen and fervent supporter of democracy, I am very thankful this year for the 22nd Amendment establishing term limits on the presidency, knowing that this nightmare will end in three long years.
— Richard Peters, Bannockburn
My list of ‘nots’
I am thankful for my “nots”: for not living in fear of being captured and treated inhumanely, because I’m not Latino; for not being a victim of gun or domestic violence; for not being hungry and having to stand in long lines for food; for not being cold, poor and homeless; for not being lonely; and for not being dependent on anyone for my daily living.
— Rhonda Campbell, Beecher, Illinois
A recalibration
I’m grateful for people who have exemplified the enduring American values of compromise, principled leadership and free speech. Widespread promotion of these ideals can help repair our communal bonds.
As a Riverwoods trustee, I met the former chair of Lake County’s Southlake Mosquito Abatement District, Kim Stone, who thoughtfully changed her mind about simply dissolving the district. Instead, she worked with the mayors of Riverwoods, Highland Park and other surrounding communities to rapidly annex the Southlake District into Cook County’s larger North Shore Mosquito Abatement District.
This allowed the Lake County Board chair to meet her objective of consolidating units of government, while ensuring efficient, improved and lower-cost services to area residents.
In my involvement in national politics, I’ve met young leaders such as Principles First’s Heath Mayo and elder statesmen such as Our Republican Legacy’s John Danforth, a former U.S. senator.
They are dedicated to reorienting our national political conversation, particularly on the right, around core shared principles (15 for Principles First and five for Our Republican Legacy) that won’t change based on charismatic leaders’ personal whims.
How inspiring it is to see Principles First hosting town halls, building coalitions and supporting candidates who put country over party, without asking anyone to abandon their core beliefs — but simply to prioritize the rule of law and the integrity of our institutions.
How refreshing it is to hear Republicans talk about promoting civic unity, the Constitution, fiscal responsibility, free enterprise and peace through strength.
In my multiyear effort to curb abuse in women’s soccer, I’ve met front office staff as far away as San Diego in professional sports and women who played locally as youths in the Chicago suburbs. They are courageously using their voices and the traditional and alternative justice systems to fight for transparency and accountability and to make soccer safer for all.
It is never easy to put others’ interests above your own. As a whistleblower, you may face an abusive defamation lawsuit from a powerful, self-styled “icon” of the sport or endure the lengthy and opaque process of pursuing justice through the U.S. Center for SafeSport, which must be further reformed by Congress.
These exemplars remind us to heed the wisdom of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who stated that “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing, so don’t be inactive.”
— Andrew Eastmond, Riverwoods
No nuclear war. Yet.
I’m thankful the world has not stumbled into nuclear war.
I don’t remember my first Thanksgiving in 1945, as I was only 8 months old. But on that day, Japanese civilians were still dying, suffering horribly amid their ruined cities from America’s unnecessary atomic bombings.
I learned about them in 1951 and have been haunted by their images ever since. We were warned by our government that nuclear war could break out any moment with new U.S. archenemy the Soviet Union. We practiced “duck and cover” in school, a well-intentioned exercise in futility.
I still remember the 13 days of the Cuban Missile Crisis as a high school senior. I pondered if I’d get through the school day without mushroom clouds appearing and whether I’d awake the next morning.
I welcomed President John F. Kennedy’s pivot to peace and disarmament. Some progress with nuclear treaties followed. The Soviet Union dissolved. There was less likelihood of nuclear Armageddon
But America squandered that momentum. Today, the risk of nuclear war may be greater than any time since that 1962 missile crisis. The U.S. has dumped nuclear treaties with Russia and will exit the last one, New Start, next February. We’ve been at war with Russia via Ukraine for nearly four years. Even though Ukraine is doing all the dying, our more than $180 billion in weapons and support keeps the specter of the war going nuclear every day it continues.
What’s changed since I listened to our government warn me about imminent nuclear war back in 1951? The saddest, most irresponsible thing of all: It’s no longer warned about. Indeed, it’s not even mentioned.
I give thanks we’ve dodge the nuclear bullet once again to enjoy another Thanksgiving.
— Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition, Glen Ellyn
The good inside us
Thanksgiving is always a blessing to help us remember why we are thankful. I am getting old (I turned 84 the day after Thanksgiving) and realize that many people are not fortunate enough to reach my age. So I look around me at all that I have, most importantly good friends who make my life so much fun and worth living.
And, as my needs increase, they are there for me. Their efforts on my behalf show the innate sense of humanity that exists on this planet. All of us have something good inside of us. Please share it with others.
— Richard Dreger, Batavia
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
