Thanksgiving Got Lost Along the Way

These four Norman Rockwell illustrations came to mind while considering my thoughts on Thanksgiving as an American holiday.  We have the opportunity to express gratitude to God for all of the blessing we have here in our country, even when dark clouds appear on the horizon.  The paintings are specifically named; Freedom From Want, Freedom of Speech, Freedom From Fear, and Freedom of Worship, and for most of us, stir those thoughts in our minds and offer hope that our nation will always have these freedoms.    

I hadn’t planned on writing any more than a short comment after having read an entry on Lisa Gray’s Facebook page which contained a link to Cort McMurray’s article, Thanksgiving, America’s best holiday – It’s the day when our differences don’t matter.  It’s wonderful to find everyone wishing a Happy Thanksgiving; ...that is until you figure out how far off the mark some of these folks are.

“Thanksgiving, the only American holiday not driven by patriotism or religion, or culture or any of the other traditions we use to differentiate ourselves.”

Excuse me….not driven by patriotism, religion, culture or other traditions…this is a joke…right?

There wasn’t one reference in the article to remind anyone that Thanksgiving was set aside as a National Holiday to give thanks to God, not one.  Isn’t it sad how a religious holiday has been lost along the way as we ignore our history?

But it’s worse than that; McMurray led off that line with, “Thanksgiving is the embodiment of our pluralistic democracy…”, a curious preface which didn’t appear in Lisa Gray’s abridged quote.

Isn’t that a bit odd, I mean…, to reference communism when introducing a purely American holiday since the virtues of a pluralistic democracy (socialism) are highlighted in The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, the first Marxist-Leninist general-purpose encyclopedia?  After a while you come to expect a leftist slant to most articles that find their way into the Houston Chronicle. 

Enough already…

Thanksgiving is our chance to show gratitude to God for establishing this nation as a land where we can enjoy our inalienable rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.  Thanksgiving is an American Holiday which should make each of us proud of our heritage, humbled to our understanding that God has provided this great country for His children to enjoy freedom to its fullest extent which includes honoring and worshiping God in our own individual way. 

This article has been cross posted to The Moral Liberal, a publication whose banner reads, “Defending The Judeo-Christian Ethic, Limited Government, & The American Constitution”.