Happy Thanksgiving!
Even now, there is much to be thankful for.
The iconic image above is entitled “Freedom from Want,” and it represents one of the Four Freedoms outlined by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his 1941 State of the Union Address. The President was weighing involvement in the war against Hitler’s army and the Axis powers, and he thought it was important to articulate what Americans would be fighting for: the defeat of Nazi Germany, of course, and the positive principles of Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear. Later in the speech, Roosevelt outlined what should be the benefits of democracy, which include economic opportunity, employment, social security, and the promise of “adequate health care.”
Among those inspired by Roosevelt’s speech was First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who went on to chair the committee that drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights* and which was ratified by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948. That document was notable for its “universalist” language, exhorting “nations to recognize all humans as being ‘born free and equal in dignity and rights’ regardless of ‘nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status’.”
Today I am thankful for the progress we have made, both as a nation and in the world, toward these (to borrow a phrase) unalienable rights, even while I am mindful of the very great distance yet to to go. I am profoundly grateful for everyone engaged in the current struggle, for my friends and colleagues in Indivisible Mobile and all the progressive groups in this city and the country. I hope everyone has a wonderful, bountiful, restful Thanksgiving day. Tomorrow the work continues. We will see you then!
* Please enjoy this illustrated edition