It’s Thanksgiving week in a country whose warring political tribes are not much inclined to give thanks. But any American with a reasonable historical perspective can easily find reasons to do so.

For one thing, it’s clear that we are a much fairer nation than we were in the past. Women, blacks, immigrants, and minorities of every perceptible kind are treated more fairly and in a more friendly manner than was the case within the memory of many of us now living.