Thoughts on Thanksgiving

(its not what you think)

by Hank Silverberg

 This week, millions of Americans will sit down at a table with family or friends for a Thanksgiving dinner.  Many will try NOT to talk about politics to avoid arguing. Others will bring it up but divert to football when things get heated. And I am sorry to say, in some families, the current political climate might destroy their long time tradition.  

For me though, Thanksgiving, which always falls near my birthday, will be a time to reflect a bit about the last year on things I am thankful for and frankly, things I am not. 

First, let us look a little bit into the historical facts about the holiday. It was not a friendly group of Pilgrims getting together with a welcoming group of native Americans near Plymouth in 1621. The "Pilgrims" did not come here for religious freedom as we were all taught in elementary school. They were actually a group of religious separatists who intended to found a colony where they could mandate their own form of Christianity to the exclusion of others. (It didn't end up that way.) They did make friends with the Wampanoag tribe thanks to Squanto, and did invite them to a harvest feast that lasted three days. But there is strong evidence that relations between the two groups went down hill from there after the intervention of other tribes in the region.  So the story is not a myth, but not totally accurate either. For example, there is no evidence that turkey was on the menu during that three day food fest. And it was not the first feast in the New World that involved native peoples and Europeans. But that is not what this blog is about. It is about being thankful and cautious. 

On top of my thankful list, once you get past the joy of my wonderful family and my grand children, will be a deep emotion about the United States Constitution and what a brilliant piece of work it is. This 18th Century document still guides us well, though at times we have had to amend it. 

Hopefully you already know this, but if you have not read it, you have missed one of the greatest documents ever conceived by man. The main body lays out how our government works, the three branches of government, how much power each branch has, and how they are to function. 

The more important part, which was added in 1791, is the Bill of Rights. It outlines what your rights are as an individual, starting with the First Amendment which grants you freedom of speech, freedom of worship and freedom of the press.  

So this Thanksgiving I will be thinking of the continued attacks on the free press and free speech by the current President of the United States and his Administration which has weakened our democracy. (I can't determine if their actions are  a result of incompetence or intentional.)

  

The next nine amendments that make up the Bill of Rights are as important, though not necessarily
in any set order. Certainly your right to a speedy

and fair trial (6th Amendment) is sacrosanct as
is the right not to be incarcerated without a trial.

(4th Amendment.) So I will be thinking about all those children whom our government has imprisoned in cages without trial or due process simply because they crossed our southern border with their parents. But I divert from my main thought here. We should all be thankful that we live in a country where law protects the individual as much as the state. 

This Thanksgiving I will also be thinking about Article Two, Section Four, which allows a president to be removed from office for a conviction in the Senate of "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." I will be thankful that once again, as it has three times in the past, our Constitution is being used to check the excesses of the man who sits in the Oval Office.  

The jury is still out on Mr. Trump's guilt, but let us hope the United States Senate has enough members with the integrity to judge him for the good of the country and not just for the good of their political party. 

Here are a few other things on my mind as the holiday season begins.

November 22nd marked the 56th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Many in my generation remember that day vividly. I certainly do. I was in the fourth grade. It was the day before my ninth birthday and I heard about it on the radio as we went home for lunch. Classes were cancelled that afternoon. My father came home in the middle of a work day. My mother and grandmother could not stop crying.  It really hit me though, when my birthday party for the next day was also cancelled, a big deal for a nine-year-old. And it was then that I began paying attention to politics. I was watching TV on November 24th, 1963, when Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas. This was an era when even fake violence did not show up on TV, and here was the real thing in vivid black and white.  I have strong memories of watching young John Kennedy, Junior, salute his father as the caisson carrying the slain President's  body moved slowly down Pennsylvania Avenue on its' way to lie in state at the Capitol Rotunda on November 25th.      

The anniversary is a reminder that sometimes governments can be changed with violence. It is another good reason to be thankful for a system of laws that trump the evil ambitions of any one man.   

And then there was this. 

We also had another presidential debate this past week. I was again disappointed. All of the Democrats on the stage seem like good people. They certainly appear to have a stronger moral base than the current occupant of the White House. What is missing is someone who can inspire us, someone who can lead us forward in a constructive way without pushing or dragging us where we don't want to go. With that in mind, I came across this piece of forgotten history. This is President Kennedy at Madison Square Garden in 1962, promoting a new idea at the time--health care for all.  

                                   

And finally there is this:

A new poll from Politico released this past week shows that Independent voters, the ones who swing elections one way or another, oppose Donald Trump's impeachment and removal from office by a margin of 46% to 39%. The poll was taken after the first public hearings by the House Intelligence Committee.  Among the issues that Independent voters label as priorities, impeachment (37%) was last, way behind the federal deficit, (74%), health care (72%) and infrastructure repairs (70%).

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/19/support-trump-impeachment-inquiry-poll-071396  Democrats should take notice of this. 

And finally, to my growing number of readers, let me wish you a Happy Thanksgiving, one free of political division. 

 (Your suggestions and comments are welcome)

(Copies of my book are available at Amazon.com, BN.com or you can get details on how to order one at a reduced price and with my signature, by e-mailing me at HankSilverberg@gmail.com)