The Assault on Thanksgiving

The Assault On Thanksgiving November 23, 2021 Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the latest attacks on Thanksgiving: The latest attack is courtesy of Yahoo.com, which is increasingly home to left-wing news stories and opinion pieces. In a recent column by Chelsea Ritschel, she rehashes the claims made in 2006 by Robert Jensen, a retired professor from the University of Texas at Austin. He suggests we scratch Thanksgiving altogether and atone for our sins. "One indication of moral progress in the United States would be the replacement of Thanksgiving Day and its self-indulgent family feasting with a National Day of Atonement accompanied by a self-reflective collective fasting." We need to do that because of the "massacre of hundreds of Pequot Indian men, women and children" at the hands of the English. Actually, it is Jensen who needs to atone. More on that later. Historian Thomas E. Woods Jr. dispelled Jensen's myth, which is widely accepted in badly educated left-wing circles, in his bestselling book, The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History. The Pequots were never a large tribe, and they were never wiped out by the Puritans. Their descendants are recognized today by the federal government and are one of the recognized tribes in Connecticut. The Puritans had political rights to Indian lands, but never property rights. In fact, as Woods makes clear, "The colonial governments actually punished individuals who made unauthorized acquisitions of Indian lands." Moreover, each colony worked cooperatively with the Indians to secure land, offering metal knives and hoes as well as clothing and jewelry. "The Puritans recognized Indian hunting and fishing rights on lands that the Indians had sold to them," writes Woods (his italics). Then there are the Catholic roots to Thanksgiving that Jensen and his ilk do not want to discuss. Eric Metaxas has done the best work on this subject, recalling the travails and triumphs of Squanto, a brave Patuxent Indian boy. In 1608 when Squanto was 12 years old he was kidnapped by English colonists and was taken to Spain as a slave. Fortunately for him, some monks bought him. They cared for him, taught him their language, and introduced him to Christianity. The monks knew the young Indian Catholic boy wanted to go back to America so they sent him to live with a London merchant, John Slanie, and his family. He learned English well, and after spending five years with the family, he boarded a ship to America. Squanto arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts, which is where he grew up. He was stunned by what he found: everyone he knew was dead. Contrary to what left-wing liars say, they were not bludgeoned to death—they died of smallpox. According to Metaxas, the Pilgrims "basically adopted him." Lucky for them he spoke English and was able to help them. Indeed, Squanto "showed them everything there was to know. He showed them how to catch fish, where the lobsters were, how to tread the eels out of the mud in the stream beds. He basically single-handedly showed them how to survive." Governor William Bradford of the Plymouth colony wrote in his journal that Squanto was a special person sent by God. As a tribute to the bond they had established, Squanto and the Pilgrims celebrated a Thanksgiving dinner. The custom originated in 1621 when Bradford recognized a day of public praise and prayer after the first harvest. The first national observance did not occur until President Washington, at the request of Congress, named Thursday November 26, 1789, as a "day of public thanksgiving and prayer." The Left does not want us to acknowledge the truth about Thanksgiving. They want us to atone. We should never atone for the sins of others. Indeed, it is a cheap ploy, a political weapon used by left-wing haters who want to brand innocent Americans today for the alleged (often contrived) offenses of people they never knew. But if there is to be a National Day of Atonement, it should be either May 1, International Workers' Day, or Labor Day in September. Left-wing professors and activists should atone for their defense of Marxism and its bloody history. Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, and other Communist genocidal maniacs are responsible for murdering approximately 150 million people in the twentieth century, all in the name of workers' rights. Meanwhile, let's all partake in "self-indulgent family feasting" on Thanksgiving and thank the Lord for our Catholic-rooted national holiday.

Why we need Heroes and good role models

Most people are employed for what they do. Others find jobs for what they know; however, few people find their function exclusively in what they are.

Of the three jobs, the latter is by far the most important and difficult. The other two involve situations where individuals can rest from their occupations. The third job calls for persons to represent what they are at all times and places. They must live up to specific standards that define them and for which they are known. Such was the case of Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who once lived as part of England’s royal family. Their role was to be the almost fairy-tale models for a world in need of them. They were called to embody all that is excellent in the British nation so that others might strive to imitate them. Everyone now knows their tragic story. In the recent interview on Oprah Winfrey’s show, the couple tried to justify the abandonment of their role as models. They expressed instead the desire to live a contradiction. They want to lead an ordinary life while enjoying and cashing in on the notoriety that comes from their extraordinary role. Many looked upon the interview with distaste. It was an exercise of woke victimhood as the couple accused the royal family of racism, elitism and other maladies. They railed against the monarchical system that demanded service and restraint. The two royals reveled in the freedom of defining who they wished to be. Many might be tempted to write off the whole episode as proof of the rottenness of all elites. They might reason the world would be better off without them. Such a conclusion is at odds with the real world. People need heroic figures who can embody the best of humanity. There need to be people who set the standard. Such figures are capable of great deeds and actions. However, their main role is to unite, harmonize and elevate society by the power of their presence. Take them away, and society decays into mediocrity and sloth. Indeed, sociologists recognize this innate need, and some identify these figures as what are called “representative characters.” As scholar Alasdair MacIntyre writes, such characters “are, so to speak, the moral representatives of their culture and they are so because of the way in which moral and metaphysical ideas and theories assume through them an embodied existence in the social world.” “A representative character is a kind of symbol,” writes Robert N. Bellah. “It is a way by which we can bring together in one concentrated image the way people in a given social environment organize and give meaning and direction to their lives.” Thus, Harry and Meghan are meant to be representative characters. They should take upon themselves the sacrifice of being models for society. The privilege of being part of royalty is merely a platform from which they can better offer their disinterested service to all. The role of true elites is to be representative characters that engage, encourage, coax and interpret all that is most excellent out of society. As for royals, they aim at such high standards that many often take them to be the stuff of fairy tales. That is why all levels of society find fulfillment in representative characters. Far from causing class struggle, these figures serve to unify society around sublime ideals. Their role is to sacrifice themselves for the common good of the nation. Thus, the Queen commands the respect of everyone—even the two errant royals. Despite her shortcomings, she endures well into her nineties, representing the British nation with grace and dignity. She is a living symbol of stability, self-sacrifice and decorum in a cold, cruel and volatile world. Postmodern society destroys the narratives that support representative characters. It encourages self-aggrandizement and success with no duties attached. The Oprah interview demonstrated this well. It presented the model of false elites that holds a selfish and individualistic outlook where there are no objective standards of excellence. Everything is subjective and directed inward. The most important matters are emotional and passionate. It is all about self, not the serving of others. When events eventually turn against these false elites, the protagonists turn against the system with resentment and bitterness. False elites no longer direct heroic actions. They whine about the injustice of the same system, which affords them so many privileges. The extreme effort of the hero is replaced by the easy sloth of the victim who demands everything. Thus, many people find cause to denounce the swamp of false elites destroying society by the horribleness of their bad examples. These unrepresentative characters inspire and fool no one. Quite the contrary, false elites are like the Gospel salt that loses its savor. It is good for nothing but to be trodden underfoot, which is what the scorning multitudes do.

Thus, contrary to the populist spirit of the times, society needs good elites who can be those representative characters that sociologists claim are essential. Society needs models, and youth need heroes. People are tired of ideological and partisan political agendas. There must be those who sacrifice for the common good. Above all, this kind of society presupposes the help of God’s grace to overcome the weakness of fallen human nature. That is why true elites are naturally Christian. The supreme figure is Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who embraced the Cross and died on it to provide a divinely heroic model for all ages to come.(credit: TFP.org)

St. Faustina's Visions of the Afterlife

Acts of Mercy and Justice

St. Basil the Great said:"The bread you do not use is the bread of the hungry. The garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of the person who is naked. The shoes you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot. The money you keep locked away is the money of the poor. The acts of charity you do not perform are the injustices you commit." Lent is the perfect time to ask ourselves what we’re holding onto — and who truly needs it.

The Salesian Option

This paragraph from the article "The Salesian Option" really resonated with me and I think will go far to heal our people:" It is because of St. Francis’ ingenious and zealous use of the communication technologies of his time that the Church has for 54 years now celebrated the World Day of Communication on his feast day, the 24th of January. Pope Francis has delivered some incisive addresses for this day the past few years, especially in 2018, where he discussed fake news and the need for truth as the bedrock for societal peace; indeed, we can see how that warning continues woefully to unfold in current events. The need for communicators—and journalists especially—to see their job as a vocation in service of the truth and in service of people, is so much more necessary today. The goal of a communicator, to borrow from Fred Rogers’ exceptional speech when he was induced into the TV Hall of Fame in 1999 (bring your tissues), is to “make goodness attractive” and to teach people, and especially youth, “to cherish life”." (The Catholic World Report)