Thanksgiving is a holiday that has a long history in the United States. In school, we all learned how the holiday started in 1620 after the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts. For over 300 years, the holiday was not nationally recognized. This changed in 1942, when FDR established the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving.
The holiday has a lot of meaning for a lot of people. For some, it takes on a religious meaning where they spend time in prayer. Some will spend time with family and close friends celebrating with food and football. For others, it’s a day to complain and try to ruin something else American.
For example, the ACLU decided to post suggestions for conversation starters for Thanksgiving.
Some of our personal favorite Thanksgiving conversation starters:
💬 "My pronouns are…"
💬 "Firing people for being LGBTQ is illegal and Trump asked SCOTUS to change that"
💬 "Who loved Pose season 2?"
💬 "Please pass the pie, and the Equality Act"
— ACLU (@ACLU) November 27, 2019
Others, such as the Huffington Post, have suggested that consideration should be given to the carbon footprint of your Thanksgiving dinner. I would never go as far as Fox News from this article saying that the left is suggesting cancelling Thanksgiving. Yet, the topic suggests we alter the way we celebrate.
Then you always have the opportunity to join the 50th annual National Day of Mourning. This event brings attention to the indigenous people who suffered for the creation of the Thanksgiving holiday. This year, they will even support and speak out on migrants at the border.
The fact is, all of these accounts of Thanksgiving are incorrect. Until you actually understand the background, you really cannot understand the holiday. I suggest we turn our attention to the National Archives for a better understanding.
According to the National Archives website, President George Washington was asked to recommend a day of thanksgiving to the nation. He suggested November 26, 1789 and subsequent Presidents submitted proclamations of the same. The reason for Thanksgiving had nothing to do with pilgrims, football or turkey.
Mount Vernon has a record of Washington’s declaration which can be read here. Washington suggests that Thanksgiving is a time to acknowledge the providence of God, be grateful for his benefits and implore his protection and favor. This was to be a day of public thanksgiving and prayer for those reasons.
We were implored to be thankful for God allowing us to form this great nation of ours. It is a day to unite and render to God our sincere and humble thanks. We were also to pray for God’s guidance to protect our nation and guide its future. This is certainly different than some people having a dinner in Massachusetts.
Still, the left sees this as an opportunity to attack an American tradition. I am sure it’s difficult to be thankful for something when you deny the very existence of the one who gave it to you. Certainly, it must be difficult to be thankful for a country that you are ashamed of. I am sure it’s a challenge to be thankful when you believe that being an American is unfair or a disgrace.
However, I do not want to go into those things. Whether you are thankful for God’s providence or simply a day off work, I think it’s important that we simply realize it’s a day to be thankful. While the left would argue that we should be ashamed, I want to be thankful that I live in this great nation.
I realize that people all across this world would give everything they have to change places with me. The left complains about immigration, yet I see this as a sign of how great our nation is. People want to be Americans. People want to come here and be free.
So rather than trying to discuss political talking points at Thanksgiving, I encourage you to focus on simply being thankful. Maybe thankful for a day away from work or thankful for a football game. Perhaps thankful for time with family or for a meal that satisfies your hunger. Or maybe you are like me. I’m thankful that God blessed me to be born in the greatest nation on earth, thankful for a wonderful family and certainly thankful for everything He has given me.
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