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(13 Jul 2000 at 09:59) |
| I wrote another theme song for the character "Fatbot" of my roommate's bizarre comic. Hear it on the archive page. |  |
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The reasons for the lies about the origins of Thanksgiving go deep into culture, psyche, and religion and are covered in depth in Loewen’s book. One thing is for sure: the true history of Thanksgiving reveals some very embarrassing facts.
The most remarkable part of the story may be that the Pilgrims did not even introduce the tradition of Thanksgiving in America. It wasn't until 1863 that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it a national holiday. The fabricated story of the Pilgrims was not even included in the holiday until the 1890s. The term “Pilgrim” was not even used until the 1870s.
The environmental and social devastation wrought by the European invaders of North America continues today. Oil company explorers, miners and loggers continue to introduce disease to the isolated indigenous cultures of South American and Southeast Asia.
The myth of Thanksgiving has created a false sense of self in Americans that has done great damage throughout the world. It has resulted in seeds of racial hatred and white superiority being planted in the minds of schoolchildren. It is an insult to us all, especially since most Americans are ignorant of the truth, even though the facts about the grave robbing, Indian enslavement and murder, and the plagues, were common knowledge among the settlers of New England.
Loewen gives us excellent reasons why we should seek out the truth of American history. If the conflicts of the true story were revealed, he says, then “students might discover that the knowledge they gain has implications for their lives today. Correctly taught, the issues of the era of the first Thanksgiving could help Americans grow more thoughtful and more tolerant, rather than more ethnocentric.”
We can redefine Thanksgiving for ourselves and our family. We can make it a day when we not only give thanks for the bounty we have received, but a day when we acknowledge the injustices that have been done and still are being perpetrated on so many people and animals in the world.
After feasting, we could choose a way for our families to help lessen the suffering of some creature somewhere in the world, animal or human.
We must remember these tragedies as we shape the new millennium. With genetically engineered bacteria, crops and animals being created every day, are we risking a biological devastation like the Indians experienced?
We must examine how we are using this stolen gift of a nation. As life support systems crumble and species become extinct every day, can we really say we have learned anything in the last 500 years?
Happy Thanksgiving.
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| History is written by the victors, in very aspect of American history there is political correctness. More reports of true history needs to got out. |
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