[Author's Note: The Supreme Architect of the Universe is not partisan and does not favor any one person or group over another. Our Creator is there for each of us who seeks to connect with the giver of life; one man's attempt to subjugate another in the name of a god is blasphemy and the major obstacle that still divides mankind. Herein lies the importance of our Founders' reliance on Natural Law. America has been exceptional, not because we were "better", but because we overcame our obstacles and understood that there existed a higher authority in our lives.
Failure to acknowledge spirit and our connection within creation is a step into oblivion. It is also the proximate cause for all that we call bad and injurious and unjust. The greatest lie has been the promulgation that "without MY god" all paradise is lost. This lie has nothing to do with our spirituality and our Creator; it has everything to do with ego, ignorance, marketing and control.
The worst consequences are for the millions of people that (figuratively) are left wandering in the desert knowing that without a compass there can be no direction nor destination, only an empty voyage. I have come to understand that there are two great evils: 1. The act of rejecting spirit and 2. The act of leading an innocent astray. One solution lies in the poem by Tecumseh at the end of this posting.]
Thanksgiving Day has always been special to me. As a boy I
was captivated by the swirl of activity as our family and close friends prepared the “Noble
Bird” with all the trimmings. After hours of basting and cooking, my father would triumphantly march the grand turkey to the table amidst our oohs and ahhs.
With the table set, we sat down for a meal that
would last 2 to 3 hours, full of good cheer and lively conversation. A rare occasion
when my brother and I, as young boys, could not only listen but get a word in
edgewise from time to time. It was here that I learned that a family meal is a social occasion to be treasured and recaptured by children as adults with families of their own. At five Thanksgiving was my gateway to Christmas, as an adult it became a gateway to contemplation in the company of family and friends of good cheer. It is a tradition that retains its full meaning and vitality provided it is held separate from the money-changers in the Temple.
Today I still look forward to and enjoy Thanksgiving Day and
the rituals surrounding the preparation of that still very “Noble Bird”. We have
been one guest short since my mother passed away 2 years ago but this year our
three and half year old granddaughter will see and truly start to remember "turkey
day". It is through her that this great day will continue to live on...long after my annual tale of the carving knife with its broken tip is no longer told.
The part she won’t grasp for another year or two is the prayer
of giving thanks that I will say at a table where seven or eight of us will be
gathered. It is said that when 2 or 3 are gathered there will He be; imagine a common
prayer rendered by millions of Americans on a day when families gather across
our Republic.
Thanksgiving is for the good fortune we still enjoy despite extreme
differences, our quality of life despite serious economic challenges, and a nation
of compassionate individuals despite the many attacks on our moral foundations.
This year I will also give thanks for the flood of support in my community for
the preparations we are embarked upon. I am witnessing a community of a variety
of people coming together around the premise that it is we alone who can best
assist each other. We can do this regardless of differences that seem to vanish when faced with the potential of a common tragedy of any sort. As with the Pilgrims, it all starts with We the People and nowhere else.
The Thanksgiving prayer is important but so, too, is a brief
reflection on the character and faith of our Pilgrims’ voyage into, then, a great unknown. Their struggles and humbling experiences are symbolized in the celebration of bounty
and good fortune of Thanksgiving. It was only through their lack that bounty could be manifest. It was then, in my opinion, that the unique American spirit was born. As we ponder the lack in our lives understand that bounty will only follow acknowledgement of our common Creator and our humble thanks for the very gift of life.
It is a day to reaffirm our recognition for
the founding principles and the moral compass that guided our brave forefathers
and to acknowledge the attributes that made us strong. Our continued good
fortune depends upon it.
So I offer something further for your reflection courtesy of Dr. Arnn,
President of Hillsdale College. Read and contemplate. God bless you and me and the United
States of America. It is time to go back to basics, to the principles that made America special.
Strength and Honor.
Hugh
President George Washington
City of New York, October 3, 1789
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor, and Whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be. That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks, for his kind care and protection of the People of this country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all the People, by constantly being a government of wise, just and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed, to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord. To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and Us, and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.
So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.
Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none.
When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision.
When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.
Tecumseh
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