Six Heroes to be Thankful for on Thanksgiving Day
In this month of giving thanks we wanted to present you with a guest blog from singer/songwriter Jonathan Sprout about six heroes to be thankful for.
In a world where holidays have become more about Hallmark & consumerism ….perhaps as parents who are helping bring up the next generation that will be left here on planet earth we can shed some light on protecting each other and our planet. Thanksgiving is a perfect moment to discuss taking a stand for human beings versus human consumption of glitter.
My personal favorite here from the list below is Susan B Anthony, since I live near the Stanton, the actual plot of land where Susan B Anthony and Cady Stanton discussed the women’s suffrage movement.
Everything in our lives sometimes may feel far and out of reach but great heroes stood on the same land just a few feet away from everyone of us. Perhaps you are Greatness standing on a plot of land historians will discuss 200 years from now. Remember your child could be the future of transformation. Lets encourage each other.
In the meantime we give thanks to you and yours and are grateful to be crossing your path today and present author Jonathan Sprout.
Happy Thanksgiving to all and to all a good night.
xoxo Amelia
Six Heroes to be Thankful for on Thanksgiving Day
It has been said that appreciating someone’s gifts is the best way to love them. As our national day of gratitude approaches, let’s be thankful for some of America’s special heroes whose lives have enriched us all.
Earlier this month, on November 4th, Americans 21 years and older voted. A hundred years ago, only men were allowed to exercise that right. Thank Susan B. Anthony for helping change that. For nearly 50 years in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Miss Anthony crisscrossed the nation at a breath taking pace, delivering 4,000 speeches, insisting woman have the constitutional right to vote. Thanks in part to her tireless efforts, women were given the right to vote in 1920.
Ever visited one of our amazing national parks? John Muir, the person on the California quarter and “father of our national parks,” devoted most of his adult life to protecting these places of natural beauty. The Grand Canyon, in the words of historian Ken Burns, would have been rimmed with mansions, were it not for Muir, also known as “the greatest Californian.”
Been to a doctor lately? Grateful for her help? Thank Elizabeth Blackwell for breaking through barriers to become the first woman doctor in America. She was rejected by 28 medical schools before her acceptance into Geneva (NY) Medical College. She graduated #1 in her class.
Grateful you live in a country with liberty and justice for all? Thank William Penn not only for first coining those words, but for creating his Holy Experiment here in America where people actually governed themselves. Penn was radical in asserting that everyone be treated with fairness, even Native Americans. It has been said the one treaty between European colonists and Native Americans still honored is the one he made with Chief Tamanend of the Leni Lenape tribe in the late 1600s.
Ever felt thankful that in our lifetimes, we haven’t fought a war on American soil? Thank our veterans. And, thank 10-year-old Samantha Smith, who, in 1982, helped bring an end to the Cold War when she visited the Soviet Union and warmed the hearts of millions of Soviets. Her subsequent return to the United States with appearances on national TV news shows won the hearts of millions of Americans and helped people on both sides of the Iron Curtain realize we have more in common and less reason to fight that we’d realized.
Lastly, it was Abraham Lincoln who first proclaimed the national day to celebrate our blessings known as Thanksgiving. Let’s give thanks for the hero who helped to free about 4 million slaves, kept the United States united, and helped us as a nation to formerly express our gratitude on this special day.
About The Author: Jonathan Sprout, Children’s Artist
Singer-songwriter and recording artist, Jonathan Sprout has dedicated the past 33 years to creating meaningful and captivating music for children.
He has written over 40 songs and has released four American Heroes albums about some of the most remarkable men and women in American history. He has performed more than 5,000 concerts and lead more than 750 songwriting workshops for children. His 10th album, American Heroes #4, was released in early 2014 and has won 10 national awards including the 2014 Academics’ Choice Smart Media Award, the 2014 KIDS FIRST! All-star Award, and the 2014 Creative Child Magazine Preferred Choice Award.
Find him online here: http://www.jonsprout.com/