The Biden administration has announced it will convene the first of two virtual “Summits for Democracy” on December 9 and 10, 2021. The gatherings will bring together leaders from 110 countries who work in government, civil society, and the private sector, to come up with an agenda to renew democratic government and work together to keep the ideals of democracy strong.
Dr. Richardson, if you chance on reading these comments today, or even tomorrow, just know that as we, your students in the U. of The Letters, will have given thanks for our Professor as well as all the other blessings in our lives. Enjoy this special day, with all that makes you thankful everyone!
President Franklin D. Roosevelt on a proclamation, Thanksgiving, 1941…
“….We have not lost our faith in the spiritual dignity of man, our proud belief in the right of all people to live out their lives in freedom and with equal treatment. The love of democracy still burns brightly in our hearts…”On the day appointed for this purpose, let us reflect at our homes or places of worship on the goodness of God and, in giving thanks, let us pray for a speedy end to strife and the establishment on earth of freedom, brotherhood, and justice for enduring time.”
From my heart to yours, all of my sisterhood and brotherhood, may our Democracy prevail for enduring time.
May the higher power of each of us root us in Light to show us the way. I am grateful for strife which strengthens us, and bounty which rewards us.
“And we won”. Yes. And, once again, we win.
Thank you Heather and from whence all of us came to be in this country.
Heather, I hope you realize how important and inspirational your words have been to many people. You do all of us a great service. Thank you. Happy Thanksgiving to you and all.
Thanks for this. I knew that Thanskgiving was a Lincoln proclamation, but didn't realize how it started during the war. This is a not-so-subtle reminder of how we are in a war now and can't see the full outcome yet. Thanks so very much for this perspective.
Just reading in Wikipedia about filibuster and its history in 19th century America as unauthorized military expeditions. "A filibuster (from the Spanish filibustero), also known as a freebooter, is someone who engages in an unauthorized military expedition into a foreign country or territory to foster or support a political revolution or secession. The term is usually applied to United States citizens who incited insurrections across Latin America, particularly in the mid-19th century, usually with the goal of establishing an American-loyal regime that could later be annexed into the United States. Successful examples of filibustering include the Texas Revolution and the Bear Flag Revolt in California, while failed examples include the Filibuster War in Nicaragua, the All of Mexico Movement, or the Ostend Manifesto and Lopez Expedition in Cuba.
Filibusters are irregular soldiers who normally act without official authority from their own government, and are generally motivated by financial gain, political ideology, or the thrill of adventure. Unlike mercenaries, filibusters work for themselves, whilst a mercenary leader operates on behalf of others.[1] The freewheeling actions of the filibusters of the 1850s led to the name being applied figuratively to the political act of filibustering in the United States Congress."
So how do we get of the freebooters (filibusters) in the U.S. Senate?
I am so grateful for Heather and all of you for all you have given to me these past almost two years. Thank you!
And for a deeper dive into our Thanksgiving history, listen (for free) to Heather and Joanne give the lowdown on how we bickered over the years before this day became the day of celebration we in this age have come to embrace. https://cafe.com/now-and-then/thanksgiving-wars/
Once again. In my inbox. A miracle of thought and care from you. You teach us with your deep knowledge and understanding of history, your clear-eyed perspective, and your storytelling. In return for our education, we owe you and our country action and dedication to the work against voter suppression.
Cheers to President Biden for acknowledging the need to actively promote and protect democracy here and around the world. Creeping, flagrant autocracy reminds us to never take our democracy for granted.
And Thank you HCR, again, for your profound and enlightening Thanksgiving message.
Thank you once again, Dr. Heather Cox Richardson. And a healthy and happy Thanksgiving to you and those who are near, and those who are dear to you.
What a rousing and inspiring history lesson this morning’s LFAA was! Once again the past informs both the present and the future. I have no idea how long the current national imbroglio will last or what it will consume of our treasure and trust, but I firmly believe that truth and unity and justice and peace will, in the end, triumph once more.
In the interim, we must not only win at the ballot box, but we have the duty and the necessity to reconstruct our Union, our society, so that it can never be taken hostage again. We can plainly see the need to bolster and protect our governmental framework, our educational system, our institutions of justice, our scientific infrastructure, and our moral/spiritual values and efficacy.
This is a pivotal moment in our nation’s and our world’s history. Every one of us should find our place in the ranks of those who are prepared to give their all for the establishment of a social order that is firmly rooted in reality and equality.
In 1775, Lt. Gov. Spencer Phips of the Massachusetts Bay Colony gave colonists license to kill Penobscot people for the entire month of November. The reward was the equivalent of about $12,000 in today’s dollars for the scalp or body of a man, half that for a woman’s scalp and a bit less for a child. 68 other similar proclamations were issued in New England in the 18th and 19th century.
This year descendants of survivors filmed a reading of the Phipps proclamation to their children. Here are links to the film Bounty and the Bangor Daily News reporting from which I took this information.
Sometimes I think the 'nativists' among us acknowledge - in their perverse way, in their prejudices - our original sins against America's First Peoples. We celebrate Native Americans welcoming and sustaining us, and elide how we 'thanked' them. Remorse is the first step to reparation. We are not the first to need to take this step toward Truth and Reconciliation. There are others for us to follow - for example, Germany and South Africa. How we construct our national archive, how we reform our national story to accord with events, how we write/right history rather than indulging in/perpetuating hagiography.
Critical Race Theory is just one element of the Truth and Reconciliation Americans of goodwill must engage in to put our nation on a more balanced footing and on the path to justice as fairness. We do not yet even have a name or theoretical framework for approaching our historic and continued abuse of Native Americans.
Sarah Josepha Hale is NOT someone to hold up affirmatively. According to a black historian who mentioned her in a newsletter yesterday, she was generally considered to be pro-South though she lived in the North. She campaigned that the Thanksgiving holiday have no mention of current events, and throughout the civil war wouldn't let it be mentioned in her magazine. She was one of the first to make up the bullshit myth about the Indians and the Pilgrims we all grew up on. After the war she was one of those Northerners who went out of their way to "allow the South to be the South" and bind up the nation's wounds by never mentioning slavery as the reason for the war or Southern white supremacy that was even then restoring the ante-bellum system of power through Jim Crow.
Given I know the history of what the damn "Pilgrim Fathers" - the ignorant Fundamentalist scum who were such pissants that they managed to get their asses thrown out of Holland - even then the most liberal state in Europe - for their religious bigotry. If my ancestors had bumped into North America 100 miles north of where they did, in the lands ruled by the Good Pilgrim Fathers, the medieval scum would have imprisoned them for being "heretics" (they were Quakers), then run hot pokers through the tongues of the men to prevent them ever speaking their "heresy" again, and treated the women as witches. The Pilgrims were the first ignorant bigoted backward Fundamentalist scum to come along and set the precedent for what we have today.
I may make a meal tomorrow for my bedridden wife and give thanks she's OK, but it will have nothing to do with this Bullshit Holiday that turns genocide into niceness.
Wishing everyone a truly calm and peaceful Thanksgiving. Am especially grateful these past few years for you Heather. You have brought sanity to my days. Hope to my heart. Courage to face the future. You are so loved.
Dr. Richardson, if you chance on reading these comments today, or even tomorrow, just know that as we, your students in the U. of The Letters, will have given thanks for our Professor as well as all the other blessings in our lives. Enjoy this special day, with all that makes you thankful everyone!
President Franklin D. Roosevelt on a proclamation, Thanksgiving, 1941…
“….We have not lost our faith in the spiritual dignity of man, our proud belief in the right of all people to live out their lives in freedom and with equal treatment. The love of democracy still burns brightly in our hearts…”On the day appointed for this purpose, let us reflect at our homes or places of worship on the goodness of God and, in giving thanks, let us pray for a speedy end to strife and the establishment on earth of freedom, brotherhood, and justice for enduring time.”
From my heart to yours, all of my sisterhood and brotherhood, may our Democracy prevail for enduring time.
May the higher power of each of us root us in Light to show us the way. I am grateful for strife which strengthens us, and bounty which rewards us.
“And we won”. Yes. And, once again, we win.
Thank you Heather and from whence all of us came to be in this country.
Celebrate community that unifies us!
Love and Light!
Heather, I hope you realize how important and inspirational your words have been to many people. You do all of us a great service. Thank you. Happy Thanksgiving to you and all.
And they won...
May the democracy win, again
Endless blessings upon you, Dear Heather, and all the herd.
Thanks for this. I knew that Thanskgiving was a Lincoln proclamation, but didn't realize how it started during the war. This is a not-so-subtle reminder of how we are in a war now and can't see the full outcome yet. Thanks so very much for this perspective.
Just reading in Wikipedia about filibuster and its history in 19th century America as unauthorized military expeditions. "A filibuster (from the Spanish filibustero), also known as a freebooter, is someone who engages in an unauthorized military expedition into a foreign country or territory to foster or support a political revolution or secession. The term is usually applied to United States citizens who incited insurrections across Latin America, particularly in the mid-19th century, usually with the goal of establishing an American-loyal regime that could later be annexed into the United States. Successful examples of filibustering include the Texas Revolution and the Bear Flag Revolt in California, while failed examples include the Filibuster War in Nicaragua, the All of Mexico Movement, or the Ostend Manifesto and Lopez Expedition in Cuba.
Filibusters are irregular soldiers who normally act without official authority from their own government, and are generally motivated by financial gain, political ideology, or the thrill of adventure. Unlike mercenaries, filibusters work for themselves, whilst a mercenary leader operates on behalf of others.[1] The freewheeling actions of the filibusters of the 1850s led to the name being applied figuratively to the political act of filibustering in the United States Congress."
So how do we get of the freebooters (filibusters) in the U.S. Senate?
I am so grateful for Heather and all of you for all you have given to me these past almost two years. Thank you!
And for a deeper dive into our Thanksgiving history, listen (for free) to Heather and Joanne give the lowdown on how we bickered over the years before this day became the day of celebration we in this age have come to embrace. https://cafe.com/now-and-then/thanksgiving-wars/
Then there's this from the turkey's point of view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EW4vgSP-mM
Once again. In my inbox. A miracle of thought and care from you. You teach us with your deep knowledge and understanding of history, your clear-eyed perspective, and your storytelling. In return for our education, we owe you and our country action and dedication to the work against voter suppression.
Thank you for continuing these letters. They educate and enlighten me. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving...Here's to saving our Democracy!
Cheers to President Biden for acknowledging the need to actively promote and protect democracy here and around the world. Creeping, flagrant autocracy reminds us to never take our democracy for granted.
And Thank you HCR, again, for your profound and enlightening Thanksgiving message.
Best to all this day and every day.
“And we won.”
Thank you once again, Dr. Heather Cox Richardson. And a healthy and happy Thanksgiving to you and those who are near, and those who are dear to you.
What a rousing and inspiring history lesson this morning’s LFAA was! Once again the past informs both the present and the future. I have no idea how long the current national imbroglio will last or what it will consume of our treasure and trust, but I firmly believe that truth and unity and justice and peace will, in the end, triumph once more.
In the interim, we must not only win at the ballot box, but we have the duty and the necessity to reconstruct our Union, our society, so that it can never be taken hostage again. We can plainly see the need to bolster and protect our governmental framework, our educational system, our institutions of justice, our scientific infrastructure, and our moral/spiritual values and efficacy.
This is a pivotal moment in our nation’s and our world’s history. Every one of us should find our place in the ranks of those who are prepared to give their all for the establishment of a social order that is firmly rooted in reality and equality.
In 1775, Lt. Gov. Spencer Phips of the Massachusetts Bay Colony gave colonists license to kill Penobscot people for the entire month of November. The reward was the equivalent of about $12,000 in today’s dollars for the scalp or body of a man, half that for a woman’s scalp and a bit less for a child. 68 other similar proclamations were issued in New England in the 18th and 19th century.
This year descendants of survivors filmed a reading of the Phipps proclamation to their children. Here are links to the film Bounty and the Bangor Daily News reporting from which I took this information.
https://www.bountyfilm.org/
https://bangordailynews.com/2021/11/23/news/266-years-ago-new-england-colonists-were-legally-allowed-to-kill-penobscot-people-joam40zk0w/
Sometimes I think the 'nativists' among us acknowledge - in their perverse way, in their prejudices - our original sins against America's First Peoples. We celebrate Native Americans welcoming and sustaining us, and elide how we 'thanked' them. Remorse is the first step to reparation. We are not the first to need to take this step toward Truth and Reconciliation. There are others for us to follow - for example, Germany and South Africa. How we construct our national archive, how we reform our national story to accord with events, how we write/right history rather than indulging in/perpetuating hagiography.
Critical Race Theory is just one element of the Truth and Reconciliation Americans of goodwill must engage in to put our nation on a more balanced footing and on the path to justice as fairness. We do not yet even have a name or theoretical framework for approaching our historic and continued abuse of Native Americans.
Thank you for your generous and ongoing gift of these informative, patriotic, and inspiring letters, Dr. Richardson.🌿
“And they won”
Civil War Slave States 1861-1865
Alabama
Arkansas
Florida
Georgia
Louisiana
Mississippi
North Carolina
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
And what states after midterms , by hook or by crook, will likely have an iron grip on America?
There is short term winning and long term winning.
The filibuster and owning the Supreme Court is the long term win and not a shot was fired.
Sarah Josepha Hale is NOT someone to hold up affirmatively. According to a black historian who mentioned her in a newsletter yesterday, she was generally considered to be pro-South though she lived in the North. She campaigned that the Thanksgiving holiday have no mention of current events, and throughout the civil war wouldn't let it be mentioned in her magazine. She was one of the first to make up the bullshit myth about the Indians and the Pilgrims we all grew up on. After the war she was one of those Northerners who went out of their way to "allow the South to be the South" and bind up the nation's wounds by never mentioning slavery as the reason for the war or Southern white supremacy that was even then restoring the ante-bellum system of power through Jim Crow.
Given I know the history of what the damn "Pilgrim Fathers" - the ignorant Fundamentalist scum who were such pissants that they managed to get their asses thrown out of Holland - even then the most liberal state in Europe - for their religious bigotry. If my ancestors had bumped into North America 100 miles north of where they did, in the lands ruled by the Good Pilgrim Fathers, the medieval scum would have imprisoned them for being "heretics" (they were Quakers), then run hot pokers through the tongues of the men to prevent them ever speaking their "heresy" again, and treated the women as witches. The Pilgrims were the first ignorant bigoted backward Fundamentalist scum to come along and set the precedent for what we have today.
I may make a meal tomorrow for my bedridden wife and give thanks she's OK, but it will have nothing to do with this Bullshit Holiday that turns genocide into niceness.
Wishing everyone a truly calm and peaceful Thanksgiving. Am especially grateful these past few years for you Heather. You have brought sanity to my days. Hope to my heart. Courage to face the future. You are so loved.