Holiday Value

For John, BLUF:  In my youth holidays were import family and community celebrations.  Now, instead of bringing us together and inspiring us to do better, they are points of contention and opportunities to argue politics.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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A Response to Thanksgiving History as Told by the NYT

Here is the sub-headline:

The NYT gives us Thanksgiving as seen through a neo-Marxist lens.  It is not only political foolish, but historically inaccurate.  This is a response.

From The Book Worm Room, by Blogger Wolf Howling, 28 November 2019.

Here is the lede plus three:

The NYT gives Space to a lily-white George Washington University History Professor, David J. Silverman, who, surprise, thinks that Thanksgiving is a tragedy of colonialism.  He states that the “Native American past and present tend to make white people uncomfortable because they turn patriotic histories and heroes inside out and loosen claims on morality, authority and justice.”  According to this donkey’s ass, white people were evil, while red people were pristine, good, and with a culture that was “every bit as ancient and rich as in Europe.”

Thanks for the Howard Zinn version of history, professor.

The reality is that all of the Eastern woodland Indian tribes were a stone age people without iron metallurgy or even the wheel. They were in constant warfare with other tribes each trying to take the other’s land or defend their own.  When the professor condemns Europeans uniquely for conducting coastal raids on Indians in the 16th century and taking slaves, the proper response is not “how evil the Europeans were,” it’s “are you kidding, you putz?”

One, the Pilgrims didn’t do any of that.  Two, the fact that others than the Pilgrims did, well, welcome to the brutality of life in the 1500’s, whether Indian, European, Middle Eastern, etc.  True, those raids represented a tiny sliver of European society at its worst.  But what does it say that such raids were simply the equal to the traditional Indian society of the day?  Will you tell us the tale of Hannah Duston next, Professor?

Let us stipulate, slavery is wrong.  It was wrong in 1619.  It is wrong today.  However, we are better informed today than we were before.  Just ask any Millennial or GenZ members.

And scalping people is déclassé.  Even if other people do it.

Yes, we are smarter than those who went before us, but they were trying to do something new, to provide new opportunities for freedom.  They were far from perfect.  It wasn't just Native Americans they tangled with.  There were also Catholics and Baptists.

But, they provided inspiration and a basis to go forward.  I am empowered by the Thanksgiving turkey and fixings to try and be a better person, a better American.  Let us all move forward.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff