Hast Thou But One Blessing?

Only a few short weeks before the United States’ entry into World War II, and one day after Thanksgiving, Sidney Ballon extols the virtues of democracy while staying ever mindful of its shortcomings

 We have assembled a tremendous lust for the purpose of saving democracy, but our physical might alone is insufficient. Our armies will fight the external battle if necessary, but to do the job right it is up to America to give its armies a democracy that becomes ever more worthwhile fighting for.

​THERE ARE SEVERAL CHARACTERS IN THE BIBLE whom we ordinarily group among its villains, yet who have uttered phrases which have become classic challenges to the conscience of humanity. The most quoted of these characters is the man who has the questionable distinction of being history's first murderer, Cain, concerning whom we read in the opening section of the Torah and whose dramatic question, "Am I my brother's keeper?"[1] has run down through the ages challenging selfishness, greed and indifference. In the Torah portion which we read on this Sabbath comes a similar query of almost equal power. We read again of two brothers who could not get along. They were twins, but nevertheless of contrasting personalities, for "Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents."[2] The first conflict between them comes when Jacob, for all his quietness, drives a hard bargain for the lunch which Esau craves and wins the birthright in return for a mess of pottage. Later, when their father Isaac is about to die, Jacob again takes advantage of his brother and deceives his father into giving him the blessing originally intended for Esau. And when Esau comes to his father to receive that blessing and discovers what has happened, he weeps bitterly, and asks, "Hast thou but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also my father."[3]
 
This question of Esau, "Hast thou but one blessing, my father?” in striking words, expresses the hurt of the oppressed, impoverished and persecuted of all times. It is the plea of those held in subjection, while others rule over them; it is the plea of those deprived of the material goods of life while others are sated; it is the plea of those who suffer while others seek to beat out of them their religious convictions. And it is most appropriate that we read this story on the weekend of Thanksgiving, for it was with this bitter challenge of Esau in their hearts that the Pilgrim Fathers who gave us this Thanksgiving holiday set sail over unknown seas in search of a new home.  Denied the opportunity to worship God as they saw fit, they were hounded and made miserable, deprived of their birthright, and the blessing due them as citizens of England and as human beings. It was their determination to wrest a blessing for themselves also that led them to seek shelter on an unexplored continent, to risk the hostility of a strange race, and unknowingly to lay the foundations of a mighty nation. And today if the festival instituted by them is to be meaningful, we must keep in mind its larger significance. Our thought on Thanksgiving is not merely of thanks for the personal goods which we have acquired and enjoy. Our character would reflect a base selfishness of spirit in spite of such gratitude if we stopped with that. Thanksgiving Day has greater meaning. It is the day on which we turn our thoughts to the blessings that we share or should share with others. It is the day on which we ponder the challenge, “Hast thou but one blessing, my father?” And it is the glory of our country that its answer to this question has always been that in it there must be blessings for all. No one group has by the law of the land been singled out as the favorite to which all other groups are inferior. No one group has by the law of the land been granted the political power over others. No one group has by the law of the land been granted economic dominance over others. No one group has been acknowledged by the law of the land as possessing the religious truth to the exclusion of all others. America, mindful of the forces which led the Pilgrim fathers to these shores, mindful of the unbearable tyranny which led to the rebellion of the fathers of the Revolution, proclaimed to the world that it was self-evident “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator, (not by any government or human ruler) with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." And so at this season, our Thanksgiving is not only for the bread we eat and the house we live in, but for the privilege, which so many others are denied, of living in freedom amidst a people which still believes in justice and equality.
 
But if the blessings for which we are thankful in this land are so great, we must be equally mindful of the dangers which threaten them. Thanksgiving Day 1941[4] finds Americans becoming more and more appreciative of the blessings which America bestows upon them, but also finds these blessings placed in ever increasing peril.[5] Externally we are confronted by the might of a people which refuses to concede to all humanity and equal right to the blessings of life, but who rather seeks for itself alone the right to rule the world as a superpower to which all other peoples must pay homage. Internally we are confronted by the efforts of those who have lost faith, who under the pretense of seeking peace, wish to concede victory to the enemies of democracy, and through compromising American principles seek to gain what they believe is the good which will come from being on the side of the victor. To strengthen ourselves against these threats from within and without, preparedness on two fronts is necessary. We need, first of all, to continue to rush our physical defenses and to leave no stone unturned in seeking a peaceful solution of any difficulties which stand in the way. We know the stronger and the quicker we build our physical resources, the more aid we can give to those nations abroad who are engaged in the actual combat with these forces of reaction, and the better will we be able to withstand any possible attack upon ourselves. In this effort to equip ourselves, no citizen has the moral right to hold back either his labor or his capital, or to complain about paying a fair share of the cost. Time is important and delay is fatal. Unfortunately neither labor nor capital has a clear record on that score. Today we are confronted with the vast coal strike and all the loss of time that it implies. On other occasions it has been capital that has been on strike, though with less publicity, and been willing to hold America back for the sake of higher profits. Both are equally to be condemned. It can be said, however, that in spite of these occasional difficulties America has gone forward on the physical front and may pride itself on its achievements of the past months.
 
There is another front, however, on which the battle must be fought and on which we must fight with equal vigor. We must not think only of the immediate tasks and overlook the problems which will confront us once the immediate emergency is over. The salvation of democracy and the American way of life will not be achieved by the military victory alone when and if it is gained. A larger but less dramatic struggle will ensue in which the principles of democracy will be tested in the fire of postwar adjustments and economic recession. For that struggle, too, preparedness is necessary — spiritual preparedness rather than the physical. And this preparedness consists of strengthening now the democratic procedures upon which the American way is based. America has been a perfect land in theory, but in practice there are still some rough spots in this still growing country which need attention, and the urgent military needs of the moment should not distract our attention from the task of remedying what have been termed "domestic maladjustments, which, if neglected, might prove our Achilles' heel in time of crisis."[6] There are still corners of America where the cry, "Hast thou but one blessing?" May be raised with great pertinence. There are still vast sections of America, particularly in the South where even such a basic principle as the right of every man to vote is through one subterfuge or another violated. There are still corners of America where it seems almost that slavery is still in existence. There are still little islands in this country, and we do not have to go out of the city limits to find them, where a decent home to live in would be looked upon almost as a luxury. Our economic system is yet far from granting to every man life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The laboring people who have gone on strike have not been altogether in the wrong. They could not accept lying down a situation whereby some men climbed to riches over the backs of others under the excuse of national defense. The salvation of American democracy lies in more democracy. Our democratic system must be increasingly strengthened to absorb the shocks which it will have to suffer in a post war world. We have to be trained more and more to think about the blessing that is due the other man, not only the blessings we enjoy ourselves.
 
We have assembled a tremendous lust for the purpose of saving democracy, but our physical might alone is insufficient. Our armies will fight the external battle if necessary, but to do the job right it is up to America to give its armies a democracy that becomes ever more worthwhile fighting for. In the long run the inside job we do will be at least of equal importance to that on the outside.
 
Many years ago a noted Frenchman asked the American poet Lowell, "how long do you think the American Republic will endure?" And the answer was, "so long as the ideas of its founders continue to be dominant." And the Frenchman replied, "I agree with you." At this season of Thanksgiving we render our thanks for these ideas of the founders of America. We thank God that we are among the fortunate who are citizens of America. We also dedicate ourselves to continue to keep the ideas of its founders dominant, and to do our part to put into actual practice their noblest democratic ideals, and thereby to ensure the continued existence of America as man's best hope on earth.
 


[1] Genesis 4:9 And the LORD said unto Cain: 'Where is Abel thy brother?' And he said: 'I know not; am I my brother's keeper?'

[2] Genesis 25:27

[3] Genesis 27:38

[4] November 20, 1941. In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt departed from tradition by declaring November 23, the next to last Thursday that year, as Thanksgiving Day. After two years of confusion and complaint, Roosevelt signed legislation establishing Thanksgiving Day as the fourth Thursday in November. Calendars and holiday plans were already set for the third Thursday in November, 1941 so the legislation took effect in 1942.

[5] Just 17 days before the bombing of Pearl harbor by the Japanese

[6] These appear to be the words of Vera Micheles Dean (1903 – 1972), a Russian American political scientist and one of the leading authorities in international affairs during the 1940s and 1950s at the 1940 National Conference on Social Welfare Annual Meeting, She spoke on Implications of the European Situation,  …we must not allow the immediate problems created for us on the military and economic fronts to distract us from the task of remedying domestic maladjustments, which, if neglected, might prove our Achilles' heel in time of crisis. We must remember that if Germany wins a decisive victory in Europe, the immediate impact of such a victory on the Western Hemisphere would take the form, not of military invasion, but of invasion by propaganda against American institutions. As France and Britain and Europe's neutrals have learned to their disaster, propaganda working on dissatisfied, weary, and disillusioned people can circumvent even outwardly effective military preparations. It is not impossible that, for the duration of the present emergency, we may find — as France and Britain did at the zero hour — that we shall have to accept social and economic controls undreamed of in this country and subordinate private interests and conflicts to the task of preserving our national existence. No matter how irksome such controls may prove, they cannot, in the long run, be more destructive of our liberties than foreign invasion. The world into which we are passing is a world new to us, which will require new leadership and new methods. This spells, not the doom of democracy, but the urgent need for its regeneration. For it is not merely with military weapons that we can meet the menace of totalitarianism, but with ideas which can arouse the enthusiasm of our people, give them fortitude in the dark years ahead, and renew their faith in our own future.