Little kids think in terms of good guys and bad guys, and that is quite normal. But when adults think this way about history, it is sophomoric, if not dangerous.
Hardly a Thanksgiving goes by, especially in recent years, without some left-wing sage informing us how rotten the history of Thanksgiving is. They divide the world the way the kids do—good guys and bad guys—and, of course, the good guys are the Indians and the bad guys are the Europeans. Drunk with ideology, they are impervious to reason, so deep is their hatred of the West, and of the United States, in particular.
Here’s a sample of the headlines taken from Thanksgiving bashers in the last few years:
“Thanksgiving: Why Some Push Back Against the Holiday”
“The Truth About Thanksgiving: The Indigenous Fight Against Erasure”
“The History of Thanksgiving from the Native American Perspective”
“Everything You Learned About Thanksgiving Is Wrong”
“Rethinking Thanksgiving Celebrations: Native Perspectives”
“Thanksgiving: Why Do Some Americans Not Celebrate It?”
“The Real History of Thanksgiving Can Be Painful For Many”
“What is the History of Thanksgiving? Why is it Controversial?”
“Why the Thanksgiving Myth Persists, According to Science”
“The History and Controversy of Thanksgiving”
“Should America Keep Celebrating Thanksgiving?”
“Why Is Thanksgiving Controversial?”
“The Horrible History of Thanksgiving”
“What is the Real History of Thanksgiving?”
“The Real History of Thanksgiving in America”
Most of these articles bash Thanksgiving, offering a parade of alleged horribles committed by the white man against the red man. The former are demonic; the latter are angelic.
The authors set themselves up as the ultimate fact checkers, dispelling what they contend are myths. In reality, they are frauds—boilerplate ideologues who delight in thinking they are smarter than the rest of us. They see us as “garbage” or “deplorables,” the terms used by Biden and Hillary to describe their foes.
The good news is that most of these articles were published in left-wing media outlets, which means few read them, and only the last one was released this year. That’s a sign that the woke crowd knows they are on the defensive these days. The bad news is that the last one on the list, which was published this year, appeared in the pages of Reader’s Digest.
While “The Real History of Thanksgiving in America” does not condemn America, it has a lordly tone to it. Readers are told by the author, Charlotte Hilton Andersen, that what they learned in school about Thanksgiving was wrong, contending that “this rosy picture of modern celebrations leaves out the most of the real history of Thanksgiving (bold in the original).”
She informs us that “Yes, you can still settle down with family to give thanks.” That was so sweet of her. She hastens to add—you just knew it was coming—“But it’s important to know what you are celebrating and unlearn some long-held myths.” Her arrogance is stunning.
So who is this sage? Is Andersen an historian? No. Is she a social scientist? No. She is a journalist who writes mostly about etiquette. Oh, yes, she is also a fitness instructor.
We don’t need to get a tutorial by some discontented, and badly educated, savant to enjoy Thanksgiving. Nor do we need their permission to do so.
So have a family toast this Thanksgiving, being thankful to God that we live in such a free and prosperous country.
