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NSHE Notes
by Chancellor Dan Klaich
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Giving thanks and encouraging acts of kindness are at the core of the national holiday of Thanksgiving. In 1863, a year before Nevada became our nation's 36th state, President Abraham Lincoln set aside a day for all Americans to reflect on the "gracious gifts" bestowed on our great country. He called upon us to be charitable and kind to all, especially those who most needed our help.
Today our nation and world are threatened again, not by the bloodbath of the Civil War, but by a conflict rooted in fear, mistrust and hate. We seem to be mired in a time where our politics appear to have shrunk from the soaring exhortations of our forefathers, to politics. Those who aspire to be our leaders seem to encourage divisiveness rather than harmony.
As we celebrate our national day of Thanksgiving this week, we would do well to remember its roots. It is a day where we humble ourselves and realize that we are greatly blessed to live in this nation, our great state, and the communities we share with our friends and loved ones. It is a day for drawing those close to us even closer. It is a day when history teaches us to welcome and help strangers as our brothers and sisters.
So to all Nevadans, Happy Thanksgiving. I urge us all to remember the roots of this holiday and to heed the call of Lincoln and the generosity upon which our nation was built.
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