Thanksgiving: A Celebration of Domestic Life

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Thanksgiving: A Celebration of Domestic Life

3 HOURS AGO Ryan McMaken

If recent years are any indication, this year we'll be treated, yet again, to a smattering of articles about the supposed political agendas behind Thanksgiving, and how our political enemies (whether on the left or right) are opposing all things decent by refusing to celebrate the holiday in a way that promotes the correct political agenda. On one side are the leftists who feel compelled to use Thanksgiving as an extension of Columbus Day, in which we're all reminded that it's a bad thing to steal from indigenous tribes. One the other side are the conservatives who insist on making Thanksgiving into a day celebrating a national origin story. July 4, it seems, isn't enough for them. 

Unfortunately, both of these efforts at hijacking the holiday for political battles refuse to go away. Fortunately, it appears that the vast majority of Americans don't care, and most plan to enjoy the holiday in the way it has been enjoyed for about 150 years: as a celebration on domestic life and economic prosperity.    

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Make America Grateful Again

By Mike Sabo| November 23, 2017

As we celebrate Thanksgiving with our families and friends, we should set aside time to recognize the higher purpose for which we gather together around the dinner table. More than food, family, or football, Thanksgiving is about acknowledging the duty we have as citizens to honor God for the blessings He has mercifully bestowed upon us and our nation.

In the first presidential Thanksgiving Proclamation, President George Washington reminds us that “it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor.”

Gratitude, according to Washington, is a central republican virtue. In giving gratitude such an esteemed place, Washington harks back to Cicero, who wrote that “being and appearing grateful . . . is not only the greatest, but is also the parent of all the other virtues.” In order to govern ourselves, we must first recognize the authority of the One who governs us.    https://amgreatness.com/2017/11/23/make-america-grateful-again/

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Without Thanksgiving There is No July 4th

By Chris Buskirk| November 23, 2017

The rituals we observe, the company we keep, the memories we honor—these are the things that bind a people together and give them a sense of themselves. Our public holidays make the present a link between the past and the future. They are public displays of what a people values.

In America, we value gratitude. From our earliest days, Americans have taken time to give thanks and to do so publicly and together. We’ve done this since before there really was such a thing as an American. The earliest people to celebrate a day of thanks in the new world were barely even colonists, just settlers clinging desperately to an unforgiving shore, trying to scratch out a better life.

Some, such as the Puritan settlers of the Plymouth colony came fleeing persecution and eager to build a better, freer, more just society. Others, such as the early 17thcentury settlers of Virginia and Florida came for profit. But they all set aside public holidays when they ceased from their toil and gave thanks with one voice.     https://amgreatness.com/2017/11/23/without-thanksgiving-there-is-no-july-4th/