Posts Tagged ‘Remember the reason for the season
Sing It, Whitney.
There’s no real “Thanksgiving music”, per se…but for me “Battle Hymn of the Republic” has always been the closest thing to a Thanksgiving “theme song” for this uniquely American holiday.
Words are my life…and I’m more particular about them than most people. I cringe when someone calls today “Turkey Day” because that’s like calling Christmas “Santa’s Day” and ignoring the reason for the season. Yes, Thanksgiving has a lot of great foods (and I know this because I worked hard making a bunch of those for today) and there’s indeed a fun element to the day, with a little silliness and more than its fair share of gluttony. Somewhere in Massachusetts today, I imagine Senator-Elect Elizabeth Warren dressing up in a conflicting mess of pilgrim and Indian gear, trying to decide who she’s going to be today based on her “family history”…while across the country far too many people are going to go on about food more than they should and forget completely the Civil War origins of what became Thanksgiving Day.
We’re currently in an economic Depression that our propaganda-based media won’t acknowledge for political reasons. We have a Regime in Washington ambivalent (at best) to the suffering of the American people. The political Left is at a horrifying zenith of power and is poised to do all sorts of harm to the country for the next two years. These are very trying times and our future is shockingly uncertain.
But, Americans back in 1865 felt much the same way, I’m sure. So, they began reserving a day to focus intently on the good in their lives and all the many blessings they could count.
There were so many.
There still are.
Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing today, please know how thankful I am that you are here in this very trying time for our country. You are reading these words right now…so you actually care enough about America to be on the net reading political sites on a day that others have turned into nothing more than a gluttonous pigfest. But, YOU are different and special and continue to seek news sources outside the Ministry of Truth and propaganda media. That’s amazing. It gives me great hope for our shared future. I am so thankful we’re friends like that.
I really ask you to keep love in your heart and politics off the table today, though. Focus on your friends and family today, and enjoy your time with them.
If your family’s get-togethers involve any yelling or screaming or conflict, how about making today the day that YOU step forward as the referee and peacemaker? I think this year’s the one where you inherit that role and become the arbiter of family fun and fellowship for the foreseeable future. The job sucks — let’s be real about that — but someone has to do it. There are a great many jobs in life that suck…but necessity demands them. And there always needs to be a grown up in the room who’ll keep the peace and allow cooler heads to prevail. It’s hard being that person…but give that mantle a try today because I know it’s going to fit you.
If that’s not needed wherever you are going — or someone else still serves that duty — then please just focus for a while today on all the things you are thankful for. Call up some friends or loved ones you’ve lost touch with and reconnect. Take a moment and send a quick text or email to people you love and just say “I appreciate you and am thankful for our friendship today”. You will never know how many lives you touch.
If you know any elderly people or those who’ve been sick in your neighborhood…perhaps you could invite them over to your family’s meal? Or maybe pop over later with a plate for them in case they spent today alone? We are all very much in this together…just as we were back in the dark days when Thanksgiving Day first began as a national holiday.
Enjoy yourself in all you do today…but please make sure that whatever you’re doing includes the spirit of Thankfulness and that the reason for the season’s not lost amidst all the food and the “Turkey Day” silliness that pop culture foists on what’s actually a very spiritual and contemplative time of year.
There will no doubt be people at your table today who will want to be silly, because they’ve been taught on the tee-vee that’s how to behave today.
You can set them right, in a classy and charming way.
Maybe just by playing them a little “Battle Hymn of the Republic” on your iPhone…and then telling them a little bit about why today became an important national holiday. There’s a lot more to the story than just dressing up as pilgrims and Indians and eating a lot. The Ministry of Truth doesn’t want people to know about any of that…because there’s a concerted effort to undermine all American holidays with sustained silliness…but the perfect antidote to that is YOU.
God Bless you and thank you for your continued friendship today and every day…and thank you for the love I know you have in your heart for this remarkable country that shall persevere and thrive no matter what’s thrown at it.
Above all, that’s the thing I’m most thankful for today and every day.
