Thanksgiving No. 145

In the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln asked our nation (the Union at the time) to spend a day focusing on greater things. He was responsible for instituting Thanksgiving as a national holiday. To commemorate 145 Thanksgivings, here is the text of Lincoln’s proclamation. As you read it, take note of how far  we have drifted from the paradigm on which this holiday was founded.

Proclamation of Thanksgiving
Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward, Secretary of State

Source: The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, edited by Roy P. Basler.

Take note that Thanksgiving is not “Turkey Day”. Let’s not degrade it into a celebration of self-indulgence in comfort foods and subsequent bloating, but let’s instead recognize the need for providence in our nation and give thanks to the Provider.

The Morning After

 

We asked for change, and we’re getting it. All things are possible, but not everything is profitable. The “dream of our founders” is dying.

The USA is no longer politically centrist but has slipped far left. Given the liberal/socialist control of Congress, the Executive branch and the judiciary, we have no balance of power. All government power is now left-leaning and this nation will tumble in that direction and eat the fruit of its desire for change, celebrity and comfort. Our gates will be left unguarded. We will be vulnerable to attack from outside and within. Our productivity and creativity will wane due to the lack of reward. Businesses will seek friendlier shores, liberty will deteriorate into licentiousness, comfort will override character, free speech for all will be reneged on and our government will grow into an overwhelming burden on the backs of its citizens. 

Rather than our government existing for the protection and peace of the people, the people will exist to feed the government.

History has proven that not all change is good. We have sown the wind for these past two years at least. Get ready for the whirlwind, because it’s on its way.

Why I’m Not An Undecided Voter

Every person has a world view, a set of beliefs that informs our thinking, our decisions and our actions. It is how we interpret the world and deal with it. 

My world view is not only how I understand things to be, it is the basis on which I vote. I will never be one of those much-wooed “undecided voters”. In fact, to be undecided, in my world view, is a symptom of not knowing which end is up, or even of being uninformed. A person who is undecided between two such starkly contrasting world views as we have represented in this election doesn’t know what they believe about the world and won’t be voting based on issues.

I gave some thought to my world view and how it informs the choices I will commit to while I’m in the voting booth. These are a few of the things that I will never be undecided about:

Marriage is one man and one woman. Period. Anything else and it’s not marriage. You can’t take a horse and slap a giraffe label on it and expect it to be a giraffe; it’s still a horse. Marriage is, has always been and always will be one man and one woman.

Don’t open the door to the enemy. If the enemy is in the neighborhood, don’t let him stay there. The concept of turning the other cheek was originally intended to address the idea of personal revenge, not protection and security.

Israel is the only democracy and our only ally in the Middle East. We need to support it for that reason alone.

Family solidity and stability is crucial for the survival of humanity. 

Parents have jurisdiction over the training and molding of their children.

Care for the least, the lost, the unborn, the newborn, the elderly, the disfigured and the disabled. Human beings are worthy of being valued at any stage of life.

Governments exist for the protection of the people, not to provide programs and privileges.

Natural law cannot be violated without consequences.

Civil rights are not the same as human rights. Citizens of a government enjoy the rights afforded by that government. Non-citizens do not.

Good stewardship over our resources is required, but the environment, animals and plants do not have the same value as a human being.

Capitalism is more equitable than socialism.

Truth is absolute. Truth is true for all people, at all times, in all places. It does not change.

Neither party platform is perfect. I will vote for the platform that most closely aligns with my world view. No candidate has all the answers. But I will vote for those who are nearer to my way of understanding how the world works.

Going Nucular

What do George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Indiana Jones have in common? Nucular.

In the latest Indiana Jones opus, the lead character utters the word nucular during a conversation. That blew the entire movie for me. Why? Because there is no such word. It’s a mispronunciation of the word nuclear. Indy would have had enough education and credentials to know better, especially in the day in which he lived.

I made an online inquiry about nucular and found that it is listed on Wikipedia, being there described as the incorrect pronunciation of nuclear and in increasing colloquial use. The mispronunciation is and has been used by intelligent and educated people; politicians, presidents and a well-known cartoon character. It is recorded as an ad hoc spelling and will ultimately end up in the dictionary and on Wikipedia as a real word. It will then be official. With such widespread misuse, the wrong word will be accepted as the right word. 

Obviously, no one has made the effort to correct those who mispronounce nuclear. Nucular is now acceptable because those who know better have done nothing.

This process of the unacceptable becoming acceptable through increasing use is also how our ethics, morals and behaviors are degraded. Where there is no correction, the unacceptable slowly and surely becomes acceptable, what is right is devalued and we don’t notice or care. When no one stands against misuse or abuse – pointing it out, providing correction and training in what is right – wrong things are perceived as being right. Evil replaces good and good is corrupted and no longer recognized or practiced.

Limits, Laws and a Lament

I was chatting with a friend who is temporarily residing in another state where she is not yet familiar with the rules of the road and speed limit signs are not clearly posted. As such, she found herself pulled over by a state trooper for speeding (her first moving violation ever.)

She lamented to me about how she missed driving in California, where there is a posted highway speed and then there’s the understood policy about driving as fast as is safe given the flow of traffic. People exceed the freeway speed limits all the time in California and can go for years or for a lifetime without being cited.

I pointed out that, although people drive with the flow of traffic, any speed over the posted limits is breaking the law. If the posted limit is 65 mph and the driver is clocking 66 mph, the driver is breaking the law, technically.

My friend disagreed, saying that few people get pulled over for going 70 mph or more. “No one drives sixty-five on the freeway in California unless they’re ninety-two and a half years old or driving an eighteen-wheeler fully loaded or it’s pouring rain, and even then it’s iffy.”

I agreed with her comment, but then reiterated that the posted limit is the law, and the enforcement agencies give us a lot of grace by looking the other way most of the time. But if we’re driving faster than what’s allowed, we are breaking the law, whether or not we are caught. The citing does not mean we’ve broken the law, it’s simply one of the consequences.

Word Play

Uh… “Crisises?” 

That won’t fly very far in a Scrabble game. I challenge! 

  

This story was reported by Associated Press and was captured today (March 3, 2008) on Yahoo!®News. I clicked on the lead because of the misspelled word.  

Conclusion: I’d better make sure all my spellings are “Scrabble-worthy”, huh?  

Torn On Super Tuesday

Christine Pelosi, author, activist, attorney and daughter of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, stated in an interview today on FoxNews that she had not yet decided who she was going to vote for. She was torn between her generation and her gender. Obviously, she will be choosing between Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton.

I found Ms. Pelosi’s comments something to think about. And so I began thinking about why people vote the way they do. Is it the platform, the promise or the person that we vote for. Ms. Pelosi also enjoined the candidates to “chill”, to stop bickering like little kids and deal with the concerns that will affect the future. She has a point about being concerned about her future and wanting candidates to eschew the put-downs and focus on the issues. Yet I question the basis on which she remains undecided in her vote. She talked about issues, but her stated basis for uncertainty would seem to belie her desire for a focus on the issues.

Is it right to vote based on gender? Is it right to vote based on age? Somehow it is expected that, if you’re a woman, you’ll vote for a woman, and that if you’re young, you’ll vote for youth. I understand that Oprah Winfrey is considered by many women’s groups to be a traitor to all women everywhere because she has publicly endorsed Barak Obama.

It is inconsistent that we cry foul when a job candidate is turned down due to age or gender and then turn around and choose a candidate for the job of President on that very basis. This double-mindedness is pure hypocrisy. We who are anti-discriminatory based on sex and age will be certain hypocrites when it comes to the choice of a presidential candidate, if we vote for a person simply because of their sex or their youth.

As for me, I will vote for the person who I believe is the best fit for the office, based on their track record, their values, their vision and their ability to back it up. For me, it’s not a matter of age or gender.

A Marine Responds to the Writers Guild strike

The following post is written by Corporal Sarah Ellis, USMC, age 19, currently deployed in the Al Anbar region of Iraq. 
A Marine in my unit receive a gift box from Nancy Reza, a member of the Writers Guild of America, with a letter inside that read as follows:

“This gift box was sent to you from members of the Writers Guild of America, West. [We] represent writers in the motion picture, broadcast, cable, and new media industries in both entertainment and news. We, the writers, are on strike – because the conglomerate corporations that own the studios and networks won’t give us a fair deal for the use of the television shows and movies that we create and write.

 

“They’re not very good at sharing. But we are good at sharing, and that’s why we got your name from AnySoldier.com – took a look at your list, and put this gift box together for you – knowing that you will share, too!

 

“Each box is made with lots of love. We keep you in our prayers – and know that you will be home soon!

 

“If you get a minute – let us know you’ve received the box! Many thanks to you – and please be safe.”

 

I picked up the above letter off of a desk. It had been placed there, and probably forgotten about, after the accompanying care package was opened by a fellow Marine. No, the care package was not mine. And yes, I am nosey…very, very nosey. I wouldn’t be good at my job if I wasn’t. It was one of the first things my Staff Sergeant taught me. And no, I wasn’t invading anyone’s privacy. When Marines and soldiers and sailors get a care package or letter, it’s often shared with everyone in the platoon. We have bulletin boards cluttered with letters from people we don’t know. They’re put there for everyone to read.  

 

When I first read this letter I was taken aback by what I saw, by what they were saying. I didn’t really care at first. But then I took a second look at the letter. Some of the words were italicized, and it struck me then that it wasn’t what they were saying it was how they were saying it. 

 

So here’s the jist of my whole interpretation of the letter. They were acting like little kids, talking about sharing and how the big corporations weren’t being fair. They were whining and complaining about not getting what they want. Then it hit me, they weren’t sending the package out of he kindness of their hearts. They did it to make a

political statement to us here in Iraq who put our lives in harm’s way so that grown men and women can whine, complain, protest and act like kindergartners because they aren’t getting the pay they think they deserve for their hard work.

 

Well boohoo. I don’t get paid enough to work 16-hour days and pull all nighters only to work again the next day. I don’t get paid enough to put my life on line for people who protest for things that I don’t believe in or even care about. I don’t get paid enough to spend time away from my family for months at a time in a foreign country, or even days or weeks away from my family even when I’m stateside, so I can train for the mission. And guess what? You, Writer’s Guild, can protest all you want for better pay and higher benefits. You know what happens to me if I protest? I get tried for treason.

 

Here’s something else: I, as well as other Marines, DON”T CARE. All you are accomplishing by striking is to create an angry bunch of out-of-work people stateside, and a bunch of disgruntled Marines in country because we can’t watch a new episode of Heroes or Lost. We don’t care about your wants out here, or the fact that you aren’t getting what you want from your job. Suck it the f**k up, and deal with it.