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NOVEMBER 22, 2000

While in Vietnam last week, President Bill Clinton issued his annual Thanksgiving proclamation. In case you missed it, here it is again.

Indianz.Com is on holiday for Thanksgiving. Happy Turkey Day!

We have much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving Day. Our Nation isfree, prosperous, and at peace. The remarkable growth in human knowledgeand technological innovation offers real hope for defeating the age-oldenemies of humanity: poverty, famine, and disease. Our dynamic economycontinues to generate millions of new jobs, and, as wages rise andunemployment falls to its lowest level in more than a generation, millionsof American families are sharing in the bounty of this great land for thefirst time.

Sharing in God's blessings is at the heart of Thanksgiving and at thecore of the American spirit. At Plymouth in 1621, the Pilgrims celebratedtheir first harvest in the New World thanks to the generosity of theirNative American neighbors. In return, the Pilgrims invited these tribalmembers to share in their harvest festival. At Thanksgiving this year andevery year, in worship services and family celebrations across our country,Americans carry on that tradition of giving, sharing not only with familyand friends, but also with those in need throughout their communities.

Every generation of Americans has benefited from the generosity,talents, efforts, and contributions of their fellow citizens. All of ushave been enriched by the diverse cultures, traditions, and beliefs of themillions of people who, by birth or choice, have come to call America theirhome. All of us are beneficiaries of our founders' wisdom and of theservice and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform. While Americans arean independent people, we are interdependent as well, and our greatestachievements are those we have accomplished together.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving, let us remember with gratitude thatdespite our differences in background, age, politics, or race, each of usis a member of our larger American family and that, working together, thereis nothing we cannot accomplish in this promising new century.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United Statesof America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution andlaws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 23, 2000,as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage all the people of theUnited States to assemble in their homes, places of worship, and communitycenters to share the spirit of fellowship and prayer and to reinforce theties of family and community; to express heartfelt thanks to God for ourmany blessings; and to reach out in gratitude and friendship to ourbrothers and sisters across this land who, together, comprise our greatAmerican family.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventeenth dayof November, in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the Independenceof the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON

Relevant Links:
The White House - www.whitehouse.gov
National Day of Mourning - www.pilgrimhall.org/daymourn.htm