It is the season of giving, forgiving, renewal, and hope.  If you could give a gift to America, what gift would you give?  

We all appreciate our country, and we are grateful for all that it offers.  But we also know that there are things that could be better—and should be better.  If we identify some of those issues, perhaps we can then focus on making the improvements.  

The rulers of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt gave their citizens the gift of survival by collecting grain, as a tax, during years when the harvest was good, storing it, and distributing the gain during years when the crops failed. They also pioneered the use of domestic cats to protect the grain from little rodent critters that must have thought all that good stuff was just for them.  

Anton van Leeuwenhoek gave the world the microscope that enabled the identification of bacteria and viruses as the cause of many diseases. The benefits for humanity have been enormous.  

Our American ancestors gave America the gift of democracy. It was certainly not perfect, but it was a good start, perhaps as good as could be achieved at that time.  

Previous generations of women worked for decades to give American women the right to vote. The U.S. Constitution was adopted in 1789, but women’s right to vote waited until the adoption of the XIX (nineteenth) Amendment in 1920.  

People probably dreamed of flying for thousands of years. Orville and Wilbur Wright showed us how to fly.

Roses are one of nature’s many gifts to America. People have cultivated them and maximized their beauty. We have a Rose Bowl, and the White House has a Rose Garden. In 1986, former President Ronald Reagan signed a proclamation that included the following sentences.  “The American people have long held a special place in their hearts for roses. Let us continue to cherish them, to honor the love and devotion they represent, and to bestow them on all we love just as God has bestowed them on us.”

Some of us would, for example, probably give a cure for cancer, universal health care, or affordable housing, but the choice is unlimited.  What gift would you give America?

Jack Stevenson is a retired infantry officer, civil service and private corporation employee who now reads history, follows issues important to Americans, and writes commentary from his home in Pensacola, Florida.