Thanksgiving: A Time of Mourning
Posted on November 13, 2007
Its that time of year again. Before the ACLU starts protecting us from nativity scenes, and politically correct councils save us from theocratic encroachments like red and green lights….we have Thanksgiving. Many people think that this is a time for sharing, family and happiness. However, the Seattle Public School Staff are being informed that this is a myth: Instead, Thanksgiving should be used as a time of race guilt, America hating, and mourning.
With so many holidays approaching we want to again remind you that Thanksgiving can be a particularly difficult time for many of our Native students. This website http://www.oyate.org/resources/shortthanks.html offers suggestions on ways to be sensitive of diverse experiences and perspectives and still make the holiday meaningful for all students. Here you will discover ways to help you and your students think critically, and find resources where you can learn about Thanksgiving from a Native American perspective. Eleven myths are identified about Thanksgiving, take a look at #11 and begin your own deconstruction.
Myth #11: Thanksgiving is a happy time
Fact: For many Indian people, “Thanksgiving†is a time of mourning, of remembering how a gift of generosity was rewarded by theft of land and seed corn, extermination of many from disease and gun, and near total destruction of many more from forced assimilation. As currently celebrated in this country, “Thanksgiving†is a bitter reminder of 500 years of betrayal returned for friendship.
Look, I’m all for truthful, historically accurate lessons about Thanksgiving. But the “diversityâ€-peddlers agenda is not about historical accuracy. It’s about guilt-mongering and institutional racism indoctrination.
Speaking shortly in the defense of diversity, when I was growing up Thanksgiving was a time to celebrate the friendship of Native Americans and English settlers. Why do we have to divide people up into fighting groups just to advance the dubious cause of political correctness? Look, the genocide that happened to the Native Americans was terrible. Children can learn about it in history class without ruining a good holiday. Native Americans have a rich culture and history. Why not focus on that, and what they have contributed to America to be thankful for? Instead they’d rather focus on making Native American children feel like victims, and white children feel guilty. Maybe we can go back a few thousand more years and dig up more collective guilt. Can we please come into the 21st century and just get over it?
Anyway, for those that want to wallow in guilt this Thanksgiving, read this liberal white guilt Thanksgiving story around the table before digging into your tofu turkey.
I kind of like myth #2:
The people who came across the ocean on the Mayflower were called Pilgrims.
Fact: The Plimoth[sic] settlers did not refer to themselves as “Pilgrims.†Pilgrims are people who travel for religious reasons, such as Muslims who make a pilgrimage to Mecca.
I see! So, Muslims are the real pilgrims. Give me a break with this garbage! Isn’t the guilt of overeating enough? Can’t we just celebrate a holiday without this liberal mumbo jumbo being pushed on our kids?
Does little James Proudfeather in the second row of the advanced algebra class feel the weight of 300 years of White Oppression? Or does he begin to feel the need to assume the role of victim as condescending adults construct a racial conflict where none exists?
» Filed Under 1st Amendment, ACLU, Christmas, History, News
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Say YES to Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving is a day to give thanks alright.
In Commemoration of all the Dead White Europeans who took those 1st brave steps toward a better life, thus setting the stage for the further growth and developemnt of Western Civilization, America, Democracy, and Freedom.
Or would y’all prefer that the Spaniards hadn’t kicked Islam out of their land, and the Aztecs had opened up a can of Whup Ass on Cortez?
Think of what sort of “Modern World” we’d have today if those pre-Pilgrim events had turned out diffrently. ;-D
I say celebrate!
I even offer the perfect recipe for your meal, courtesy of my Good Ol’ Boy Uncle from Kaintuck! (Politically Incorrect? Yes! Tasty? YOU try it & let the rest of us know, hee, hee! Unc stands by it, though, so it MUST be nutritious at least.) ;-D
That “liberal mumbo jumbo” is also known as the English language which I believe you normally defend. The liberal is mostly wrong in this case, but there’s nothing wrong with trying to clarify definitions. The Plymouth settles did consider themselves to be pilgrims, but it wasn’t until much later that we assigned them the proper name the Pilgrims.
As for your general tone, if all you’re concerned about are the practical aspects of the holiday, why is it that you celebrate it at all? You and your family can gather for a turkey dinner many times throughout the year, yet you make an effort to do it on a certain day every year. The idea is to commemorate our history. Shouldn’t we then, to whatever extent possible, commemorate the actual history instead of myths?
And it’s not about guilt anyways. You’re right to dismiss anyone that tries to make it so. Remember that the definition of guilt is “a feeling of culpability for offenses”. I don’t feel culpable for the genocide and I don’t believe anyone else should either. But we do need to not only acknowledge, but actively remember that our society is very capable of committing grave sins. We are every bit as fallible as any other society and we would do well acknowledge that at least as often as we pat ourselves on the back.
RAISING GOOD AMERICANS:
MAGIC PICTURE FRAME TEACHES CHILDREN ABOUT AMERICA AND AMERICAN VALUES
History Book Author Michael Class Says: “Read the Book. Remember the Truth. Share It with Your Children.”
Michael Class, a retired Seattle dot-com executive, aims to transform the way American history is taught, and he puts his money where his values are. With his children, Class wrote, photographed, and published Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame, an American history book Class describes as the “antidote for the anti-American agenda in the public schools, Hollywood, and the mainstream news media.”
“I was appalled at how some teachers presented American history to my own children,” says Class. “My son and daughter learned that Thomas Jefferson had slaves - before they learned that he wrote the document articulating our rights and duties as free people. European settlers killed Native Americans with blankets infected with smallpox, they found out. That allegation upstaged the stories of courage, perseverance, and curiosity that defined the pioneers. While folding paper cranes in the classroom, my children were told that a hundred thousand people died when the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan - but they were not made to understand the moral context of World War II in which the atomic bomb story fit. My children were instructed to equate illegal aliens with legal immigrants, devaluing the story of their own ancestors who came to America through Ellis Island. And, classroom discussions always seemed to cast businessmen as villains, instead of as people to be emulated.”
Class wondered: “What would the heroes of America’s past say to the children of today?”
To answer that question, the author’s real-life son, twelve-year-old Anthony, time-travels into the great events of the 20th Century. Advanced digital photography places Anthony in the cockpit of the Spirit of St. Louis with Charles Lindbergh, on the moon with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, in the laboratories of Thomas Edison and Jonas Salk, and on Normandy beach on D-Day. Anthony “meets” and “talks with” Thomas Edison, Jonas Salk, FDR, Lou Gehrig, Charles Lindbergh, Audie Murphy, and many others. But historical accuracy rules every page of Anthony’s adventure in time: Anthony’s conversations with America’s heroes are based on things they really said. The Web site, http://www.MagicPictureFrame.com, displays some of the book’s amazing photographs.
The book was a four-year family project that included a lot of research. Class spoke with relatives of famous scientists and inventors, Holocaust survivors, award-winning biographers, and others who could help him ensure that the facts of the book were both accurate and vivid. The book includes more than 500 footnotes.
But the book goes beyond dazzling photography and solid historical facts: The book presents the moral lessons of American history. Anthony learns valuable lessons from what he sees in the past. Anthony compares the people and events of the past with the people and events of his own time. Anthony discusses the nature of good and evil, right and wrong, war and peace, what it means to be an American, honor and discipline, success and achievement, courage and destiny, marriage and family, God and purpose.
The chapter about Lindbergh’s flight is really about choosing one’s destiny. The story of Lou Gehrig is really about living a virtuous life. The chapter about Thomas Edison is really about the benefits of business leadership and hard work. The story of Apollo 11 is about wonder, taking risks, and courage. The story of Dr. Jonas Salk is really about dedicating one’s life to a higher purpose. When Anthony meets his immigrant great-grandfather at Ellis Island, it’s really a story about what it means to be an American. Anthony’s observation of D-Day and the liberation of the death camps during the Holocaust is a testament to the reality of evil and the need to fight it.
“It’s not an easy book,” says Class. “The book challenges the young reader to see the modern world in light of the lessons of the past.” Class recommends the book for kids in Grade 6 to Grade 12, and for adults who “want to remember the truth.”
Class designed the book to help concerned parents and teachers put American history education back on the right track. The book includes his personal recommendations for 461 books, 595 movies, 217 songs, and 155 places to visit, all keyed to the subjects of each chapter. The recommendations are offered as an exciting addition to any formal history curriculum, and as a way for kids to experience the past. The author’s Web site offers a fun final exam.
“We can’t afford to raise a generation of Americans who do not value their country, their heritage, and their place in the world,” insists Class. “As my immigrant grandfather once told me: I became an American because I believe in America, and it’s my belief in America that makes me an American - you can only be an American by choice.”
Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame was named Outstanding Book of the Year by Independent Publisher; Reviewers Choice by Midwest Book Review; and Editor’s Pick by Homefires: The Journal of Homeschooling Online. Nationally syndicated talk-show host Michael Medved calls the book “entertaining and educational.” Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin says “parents and teachers will appreciate the inspiring message this unique history book holds for America’s next generation. I recommend this book to all young Americans, may they take us to the stars and beyond.”
Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame (hardcover, 225 pages, $25.00) is available at http://www.MagicPictureFrame.com, by calling toll-free 1-800-247-6553, at select bookstores, and on http://www.amazon.com.
###
Children are really far more capable of dealing with ironies than we give them credit for. While it’s needed to hold up heros, it’s also important to tell the truth. The point is the goal, the ideal, the nobility — the fact that even Mother Theresa had doubts makes her more like the rest of us while taking nothing away from her noble achievements. Some of our greatest advancements have come from some very flawed people — Henry Ford for example.
Hogwash!!!! I’m sick of hearing what other nationalities or nations want us to do in America. This is our culture, not theirs and if they don’t like it here, they should go back to the country they came from. I’m not being PC (Politically Correct) any longer. This is my country and it was begun by God-loving people. If the atheists, Muslims, Hindu’s or anyone else is offended, I’m sorry, but they need to get on with their lives and stop interferring with mine! American holidays are just that; AMERICAN!!! Not Indian, Muslim, Iranian, African, Hindu, or anything other than American!
Thanksgiving is first and foremost an attitude, this nonsense only makes attaining that attitude more difficult.
Pamela Stone said : “I’m sick of hearing what other nationalities or nations want us to do in America. This is our culture, not theirs and if they don’t like it here, they should go back to the country they came from.”
Um… American Indians should go back to the country they came from? Or were you referring to the white Christians? Cause one of those groups is not from America.
PLIMOTH [sic]
“Plimoth” is in fact an accurate, historical spelling of “Plymouth.” The right-wing manufacturers of the “War on Thanksgiving” should try to actually learn something about history from the Oyate page before ridiculing it.
You’ve got to hate ignorant, mis-informed and biased folk, of any color, gender or creed. Yet, there are many of them all over the world. Today, I stumbled on a few on this list…
How about you all focus on thanking the world for being able to continue to breathe, period?
Stop wasting time on spewing on these pages the hatred that you are so afraid to express to others using the speech rights you so sacredly uphold.
What makes us ALL American is that we all have a shared hope for a brigher future, and have the most diverse and tolerant society on the planet.
To keep score. To hold a grudge is futile, and ultimately unhealthy.
To the one who commented about what the world might be like if white folk hadn’t conquered and pillaged: Not sure what to tell you. The jury is still out on whether access to this machine called the Internet is a blessing or a curse.
Pax!
“… we have Thanksgiving. Many people think that this is a time for sharing, family and happiness. However, the Seattle Public School Staff are being informed that this is a myth: Instead, Thanksgiving should be used as a time of race guilt, America hating, and mourning.â€
False. Seattle school staff were actually told: “For many Indian people, ‘Thanksgiving’ is a time of mourning, of remembering how a gift of generosity was rewarded by theft of land and seed corn, extermination of many from disease and gun, and near total destruction of many more from forced assimilation. As currently celebrated in this country, ‘Thanksgiving’ is a bitter reminder of 500 years of betrayal returned for friendship.â€
http://www.orbusmax.com/attachments/ss_thanksgivingletters.jpg
The Plimoth Pilgrims did not invent thanksgiving (small “tâ€). As long as the centerpiece of Thanksgiving (big “Tâ€) is a disputed historic event, you can count on it to be something other than a Norman Rockwellian event.